Mary Anne Clarke.html

Mary Anne Clarke (3 April 1776–21 June 1852) was the mistress of Frederick, Duke of York.

Born Mary Anne Thompson, she became the Duke's mistress in 1803, while he was Commander-in-Chief of the army.

Early life, rise and fall as a courtesan

Thompson/Clarke was born in London, into a family of humble circumstances, her father being a laborer. Good looking and smart, she married before the age of 18, to a man named Clarke, who worked as a stonemason. However, in a very short time after the marriage, her husband went bankrupt, and Mary Thompson Clarke left him due to this. By 1803, after several liaisons with prominent men, Clarke established herself in the world of courtesans enough to receive the attention of the Duke of York, then the Commander in Chief of the army.

Taking her as his lover, he set her up in a fashionable residence, but he failed to maintain her financially in the manner to which she believed she was worthy. In 1809, a national scandal arose when it was discovered that she had been selling army commissions. York was forced to resign from his position, though he was later exonerated and reinstated. Mrs Clarke was prosecuted for libel in 1813 and imprisoned for nine months.

After the Duke of York resigned his position as Commander in Chief of the Army, and before he was later exonerated and reinstated, he cut all ties to Clarke, paying her a considerable sum to prevent her publishing letters he had written to her during their relationship. On her release from prison, Clarke went to live in France. She died in Boulogne in 1852,

Her daughter married Louis-Mathurin Busson du Maurier and was the mother of the caricaturist George du Maurier (1834-96) and the great-grandmother of the novelist Daphne du Maurier (1907-1989), who wrote a book about her ("Mary Anne").

Mary Anne Clarke wrote:

The Authentic and Impartial Life of Mrs. Mary Anne Clarke, Including Numerous Royal and Other Original Letters, and Anecdotes of Distinguished Persons, Which Have Escaped Suppression, with a Compendious View of the Whole Proceedings, Illustrative of the Late Important Investigation of the Conduct of His Royal Highness the Duke of York, &C. &C. and a Curious Poem. London: T. Kelly, 1809.

The Rival Princes; Or, A Faithful Narrative of Facts, Relating to Mrs. M.A. Clarke's Political Acquaintance with Colonel Wardle, Major Dodd, &C. &C. &C., Who Were Concerned in the Charges against the Duke of York; Together with a Variety of Authentic and Important Letters, and Curious and Interesting Anecdotes of Several Persons of Political Notoriety. London: Printed for the author, and published by C. Chapple, 1810.

She co-authored with Elizabeth Taylor:

Authentic Memoirs of Mrs. Clarke. London: T. Tegg, 1809.

With Gwyllym Lloyd Wardle, Francis Wright, and Daniel Wright:

Wardle Versus Clarke, &C.: The Trial of F. Wright, D. Wright, and Mary Ann Clarke for a Conspiracy against G.L. Wardle Before Lord Ellenborough in the Court of King's Bench, Westminster on December the 11th, 1809. London: J. Day, 1809.

References

Clarke, Mary Anne. The Century Cyclopedia of Names: A Pronouncing and Etymological Dictionary of Names in Geography, Biography, Mythology, History, Ethnology, Art, Archæology, Fiction, Etc. New York: Century Co, 1904.

External links

For Mary Anne Clarke's works [1] fr:Mary Anne Clarke

Mary Anne Clarke