Author: Young, Mary Julia (dates uncertain; fl. 1792-1810; d. 1821 )
Title: Genius and Fancy; or, Dramatic Sketches: With Other Poems on Various Subjects.
Date: 1795
Biographical Information
Mary Julia Young is a somewhat enigmatic poet and novelist of the late eighteenth century and early nineteenth century, with her active publication years between 1777 and 1808. Young was one of seven children and by 1808 the only remaining descendant of the poet Edward Young, author of Night Thoughts. Her birth and death dates are unknown. What little is known about her may be determined (or deduced) primarily from her publications and from an application to the Royal Literary Fund in 1808 requesting financial help after her publisher went bankrupt. Within this letter she stresses her relation to the late poet, a tactic she also employed when seeking publication, emphasizing her need as a writer who depended on her publications to earn a living.
Young's early publications are primarily collections of poetry, which reveal a vibrant social life, particularly within Genius and Fancy; or, dramatic sketches: with other poems on various subjects. The opening poem "Genius and Fancy, or Dramatic Sketches" gives the reader, through a succession of short scenes, a list of the major actors gracing the stage of the Drury Lane Theatre at that time. Her warm dedication to them illustrates her involvement within the acting circles of London; she followed this up with the publication of her Memoirs of Mrs. Crouch. Including a retrospect of the stage, during the years she performed, detailing the life of singer and actress Anna Maria Crouch. By the turn of the century Young had shifted her focus to writing novels, publishing several before disappearing from the literary stage with her final publication in 1808.
Prepared by Janette Avelar, University of Nebraska, Spring 2018
© Janette Avelar, 2018