Fanny Kemble's Civil Wars

by Catherine Clinton

A British stage star turned Georgia plantation mistress, Fanny Kemble is perhaps best remembered as a critic of slavery--and an influential opponent of this institution during the years leading up to the Civil War. By the mid-1830s, American society was firmly in the grip of Kemble's celebrity as an actress--young ladies adopted "Fanny Kemble curls," a tulip was named in her honor, and lecture attendance at Harvard fell so sharply on afternoons of Kemble's matinees that professors threatened to cancel classes. Catherine Clinton's insightful biography chronicles these early portraits of Fanny's life and shows how her role in society changed drastically after her bitter and short-lived marriage to the heir of a Georgia plantation owner, whom she derisively called her "lord and master." We witness the publication of Journal of a Residence on a Georgia Plantation , in which Kemble hauntingly records the "simple horror" and misery she saw among the slaves. The raw power of her words
made for an influential anti-slavery tract, which swayed European sentiment toward the Union cause. The book was embraced by Northern critics as "a permanent and most valuable chapter in our history" ( Atlantic Monthly ). In Fanny Kemble's Civil Wars , Catherine Clinton reveals how one woman's life reflected in microcosm the public battles--over slavery, the role of women, and sectionalism--that fueled our nation's greatest conflict and have permanently marked our history.

Genres: History, Biography, Nonfiction, Civil War, American Civil War

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Professor of history at Queen's University, Belfast, Northern Ireland. Specializes in American history, African-American history, the Civil War, and women's history. Previously taught at Brandeis and Harvard universities. Born in 1952, grew up in Kansas City, Missouri. Studied sociology and history at Harvard, earned a master's degree from Sussex and a doctorate from Princeton.

Reviews

[dianne b. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fanny Kemble was born in 1809 to a famous acting family in London when acting was trying to redefine itself from being a career just a jot above being a courtesan to being a respected profession. But the Kembles’ extended family diligently brought acting, especially with their Shakespearean readings and performances, to a fine art, and Fanny was a key part of that success. She was also destined to help her financially hapless male family members stay afloat throughout her life. They were – almost all – completely incompetent. Her father owned Covent Garden Theater, for instance, and it was constantly about to fail. And Fanny’s younger brother Henry (Harry) was an alcoholic whose doomed romance with a rich heiress formed the basis of Washington Square by Henry James. But this is her story, a very well written one, and great fun to read.

Along the way we see how even the most powerful and publicly successful women stifle themselves; as they begin to desperately clutch the idea that whatever is “best for the children” must take precedence, even if that idea is worse for the world, and clearly worse for themselves.

We dilute our original clarity, we allow in the fog.
Hey, just speaking for a friend.

This is another story – like so many – where we watch a woman’s initial fine, clear, moral thinking be perverted, altered, thrown completely off-tract by the birth of her daughters and her concern for “their welfare”. Fanny loses her sense of self, her center. This seems the exact goal of her brutal husband, but it is especially sad in such an accomplished woman.
The abolitionist she was – and could have effectively been – drowns into compromise and excuse driven by the racist desires of one of her daughters.

Motherhood, again I conclude, is a state of parasitism.

In 1832 Fanny and her father head to the USA for a well-remunerated tour. She is wildly successful as the quality of acting in the rough and rugged USA is rather undeveloped. She was exceedingly well educated (also unusual for the new nation – and, come to think of it, for the current USA). This made her popular on the social circuit. She was a sparkling conversationalist, just a pleasure in general – although (some things never change) some male journalists complained that she “really wasn’t as pretty offstage as she looked onstage”.

Darn it, girls, does it seem like maybe we can just never be enough?

Nonetheless, Fanny had plenty of suitors, beaus, paramours and since it fell to her to be – it appeared – the mainstay of filial finances, she heavily considered this variable in making her final decision. Bad choice. She ended up married to Pierce Butler who was in line to inherit the second largest slave-owning empire in Georgia. Now that’s a’gunna be fun, especially for someone who calls herself an abolitionist and wants to be a writer.

Pierce immediately got to work breaking his word to Fanny and her father, having serial obvious affairs, claiming all of her earnings, gambling away his fortune, just being a general pendejo.

He demanded she have no independent opinions. Pierce:
“...complained that her preference for her own views gave rise to ‘a sense of imagined oppression’. Fanny could best demonstrate her loyalty, Butler maintained by agreeing with him in every regard.”
He also demanded she give up all of her outside engagements and be completely obsequious. Why on Earth not? Now she was His Wife.

She eventually obtained a miserable divorce after a legal battle in 1848, losing custody and access to her two daughters.

She also published a memoir (in 1863) of life on a Georgia plantation that exposed some of the brutal realities of slavery.

But she waited fifteen years to publish it. A memoir that might have been effective abolitionist material during a critical time in the USA for moving feelings in the North about slavery. And it did strongly sway public opinion as soon as it was published. But the Civil War had already begun. Fifteen years is a lot of time living as a slave, I’d imagine.

Fanny postponed publishing that and other material, important feminist material, at a time when women were fighting for the vote, and were organizing for rights needed inside and outside of family life (Seneca Falls was 1848). But because of her tenuous relationships with her daughters and the hold her ex-husband had on them she hesitated, it seems primarily because of her fear of losing their inheritance. She appeared strongly moved by the need to be Very Wealthy, not just comfortable. She made thousands in one solo reading of Shakespeare. In the 19th century. She was never at risk of poverty.

Yet, I think, she could have changed history. She was a woman with a voice, a really big one. In 1832 (for instance) she met with president Andrew Jackson one on one. They spoke about the Nullification crisis. In her personal notes she wrote:
“He talked about South Carolina and entered his protest against scribbling ladies, assuring us that the whole of the present southern disturbances had their origin in no larger a source than the nib of the pen of a lady.”

And I think, possibly in opposition to Mr. Jackson’s intent, it seems like that should encourage every lady to energize those pen nibs. We’re so very powerful.

Her later life, especially after she moved back to the UK seemed pretty sublime: jaunts to Italy, hiking in Switzerland, the London circuit. She was extremely good friends with Henry James who visited her regularly and encouraged her many popular books of memoirs. That’d be cool.

But I wonder.

I guess I spend a lot of time these days wondering what women could have done if we’d not been captured.

[Erik Graff · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've been reading quite a few books about the civil war in the United States and have come upon many mentions of Kemble's memoir of her time at her husband's estates in Georgia, an account employed by abolitionists as evidence of the evils of slavery. I'd hoped for more of that, for an inspiring account of Kemble's work against the institution. Instead, I got a biography of a woman who's life was at once both larger and smaller than I'd expected.

Kemble was a British theatrical celebrity prior to her marriage to the second largest slave-holder in Georgia, a member of a family which provided generations of celebrities. While her youth is covered in some detail, the book is virtually a family biography, focusing on her father, her husband, and her two daughters, one of whom opposed while the other supported slavery. Politics, however, played only a very small part in Fanny Kemble's life. Instead, its about making money, marital discord, travel and the prominent friends she acquired, friends such as Henry James. In the broadest sense, this is an account of the upper crust of 19th century Anglo-American society.

[She's Always Reading · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very fast-paced book and is drastically different from "Fanny and Adelaide". The author of "Fanny and Adelaide" (reviewed separately) even mentions the differences in the preface of her book.

"Fanny Kemble's Civil Wars" focuses almost exclusively on Fanny's dramatic marriage and divorce to slaveowner, Pierce Butler, her troubled relationship with her daughters, and discusses, in graphic detail, slave conditions on the Pierce Estate and in America.

The writer of this book is sympathetic to Fanny's ordeals, but also clearly states that she had no formal association with abolition groups, namely being listed by name as a member on any of the numerous abolitionist groups in Philadelphia, Boston, or New York - places Fanny traveled to frequently.

If you are looking for a good introduction to Fanny's life and times whether historical, feminist, or even to learn a bit more about Black history immediately following the end of slavery, this book is for you.

However, I will admit I enjoyed "Fanny and Adelaide" a bit more since it encompassed very intimated details of her life from her earliest childhood and showed how her career blossomed. In other words, it more comprehensively described Fanny's personality and the "quirks" that led her to marry very inappropriately.

Anytime, you find numerous works about a historical figure, you should read as many as possible to get a more complete view of the personage. Some authors are flatterers, some obscure unpleasant facts-therefore it behooves the reader to get to know the person as much as possible, since they are not here to speak for themselves.

Fanny's sensational divorce, the deteriorating relationship between her and Pierce, and the subsequent ill will between them sounds like something from the front page of the Enquirer. It is interesting to know that the scandal is over a hundred years old, yet still holds clear warnings and lessons for independent minded women who hope to marry and tame a man with a more entrenched and domineering mindset.

I enjoyed this book and was astounded at how closely Fanny's personal problems foreshadowed and mirrored the schisms between the North and South and America and England. She is a person worthy of numerous books to be written about her and I'm glad I discovered this one.

[Annie Oosterwyk · Rating 4 out of 5]

My school book club is reading Day of Tears by Julius Lester, so I wanted to get familiar with the back matter. This biography was a great start. The writing was clear and chronological and I was impressed by how many famous people Fanny Kemble had in her circle. The rags to riches to rags cycle was dizzying, but I was left with an impression of how important it was to record the day to day events of life, along with notable political affairs. This was then what reality TV is today.
Fanny Kemble came from a notable family of English actors who transformed British theatre to a higher art form. She came to the United States to support her family and was courted by a wealthy southern land/slaveholder. The story is all about class and race and gender issues. Fanny is an individual, but also a product of her time.
This is the best way to learn about history, having it come alive as it affects a person you come to care about. Catherine Clinton never allows the pace to slow or the story to become dull. I was left satisfied that Fanny Kemble had lived her life to the full, tragic or happy and that she had done the best she could in the time she had.

[Nicholas Whyte · Rating 5 out of 5]

https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/fanny-kembles-civil-wars-by-catherine-clinton/

As my regular reader knows, I am fascinated by the nineteenth century actress and writer Fanny Kemble. I first encountered her witnessing the first ever fatal train accident, and then read her controversial memoir of living as the wife of a Georgian plantation owner in the 1830s. She seems a really attractive character, and my problem has been that none of the books I had previously read about her grasps the whole of her personality and career; Fanny Kemble: A Performed Life, by Deirdre David, concentrates on her theatrical activity and aspirations; Fanny Kemble and the lovely land, by Constance Wright, emphasises the American part of her life; and Fanny Kemble: The Reluctant Celebrity, by Rebecca Jenkins, is just poorly written.

To refresh your memory, when Fanny Kemble was born in 1809, her father’s family completely dominated the British theatre world; her aunt was the famous actress Sarah Siddons, the oldest of a dozen Kemble siblings who all went into show business. The family fell on hard times in the 1820s and ruthlessly marketed her as Juliet, both in London and in North America. She married a charming American in 1834, but discovered that the foundation of his wealth was slavery; they separated and eventually divorced. Her ex-husband also fell on hard times and auctioned off 436 slaves, the largest slave auction in American history, in 1859. Her book about life on the plantation, based on letters written in 1838-39, was published in 1862 and effectively deterred British sympathy for the Confederacy. She returned to London in 1877 and lived there for the rest of her life, performing on stage occasionally, but usually doing solo readings (she was clearly very good at it). She died in 1893.

I’m glad to say that I’ve finally found a book about her that I can recommend to the curious. Like Constance Wright, Catherine Clinton in Fanny Kemble’s Civil Wars concentrates on her American experience, but gives a lot more context and depth, and gives due regard to the English parts of her life. (We think of her as English, but her mother was born in Vienna to a Swiss mother and French father.) She does not shy away from the political side of Kemble’s life, and it’s made clear that a large part of what drove her was determination to improve the situation of women (though she rejects “organised feminism” on page 235). As I mentioned in one of my previous reviews, while audiences (and her husband) loved to see her as Juliet, her favourite Shakespeare character was Portia. (Merchant of Venice Portia, not Brutus’ wife in Julius Caesar.)

Clinton also adds much more about Kemble’s family than I think I had seen before. The fact that her favourite aunt died as the result of a coach accident soon after they had arrived together in America must have resonated profoundly for her. Clinton also traces her and her siblings’ descendants in America – her two daughters were estranged to different degrees by their parents’ bitter separation, and ended up basically on opposite sides in the Civil War; in 1874, her English nephew married the daughter of the President of the United States in a ceremony at the White House.

Due to my interest in Doctor Who, I’ve read a fair number of showbiz memoirs, and I have come to the conclusion that most actors are interested in themselves and in acting, usually in that order, and in not much else. I think it’s appropriate that Clinton treats Kemble’s theatrical career as of secondary importance to her writing and her activism. Although Kemble is always remembered as an actress, in fact she spent only five years out of her eighty-four as a regular performer in plays; but she leveraged the reputation that she had earned for the rest of her career. (And the revenue from her later solo readings cannot have done her any harm.) She enlivened a rich life experience by writing well, and I should start reading some more of her original work.

[Curt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I chose this book because Fanny Kemble belonged to a famous theatrical family that occasionally performed in plays based on the works of Sir Walter Scott. I did thoroughly enjoy the narratives involving her family and all the challenges they faced in their profession. I was very surprised at the avenue her life followed after she chose to tour America to help her family resolve a financial crisis. Marrying a suitor who soon inherited the second largest slave plantation in Georgia unpredictably redirected her life and career. Her publication of Journal of a Residence on a Georgian Plantation and its effect on her life make this a fascinating read. This will make our future visit to St. Simons Island more interesting.
The cast of characters in her life made this book even livelier than expected with Henry James thoughts at the very end.

[Sue Tretter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found the book highly readable but others might be turned off by the name-dropping and self-indulgence of Fanny and family.
Within the covers of this book, I found much I hadn't known about the day-to-day life of owners and slaves of a Civil War era Georgia plantation, some laws and customs governing marriage/divorce, and the lives of the rich and famous. Or in the case of Fanny and many of her family, those who wanted to live the rich-and-famous lifestyle though money was scarce at times. Most importantly, I think I've learned where to go for more of the same and that would be to FAK's many published volumes concerning this illustrious family of actors and authors, including among the more notable, Owen Wister who wrote The Virginian.

[Joyce · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the amazing life of remarkable and independent nineteenth century British actress Fanny Kemble. As an actress, author, abolitionist and social commentator, Kemble beguiled thousands and alienated an equal number through her books about the United States, in particular, the South. She knew everyone who was anyone in the U.S. and Europe, was the grandmother of Owen Wister, Jr., author of The Virginian and in her old age was Henry James' best friend. Kemble lived fully and reported much of it in a series of "Records" of her life. I very much enjoyed this well-told and closely researched story by historian Catherine Clinton.

[Kathryn Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply excellent. This is my third Catherine Clinton book in the last two months. Her biographies of Harriet Tubman and Mary Lincoln were so well written I was inspired to read the story of Fanny Kemble, about whom I knew nothing. As I am presently steeping myself in Civil War history this turned out to be an excellent and revealing choice. Highly recommended.

[Deb Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Getting to know Fanny Kemble was an educational and interesting experience. Liked reading about her perspective of the American Civil War. I had not thought to delve into the opinions of other countries on the war. Amazing the various "luminaries" she meets during the course of her life. Now I have to read Fanny's publications!

[Amy Manikowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating biography - it makes me want to read Fanny Kemble's works. This biography reads like a novel and gives a nice illustration of the 19th century.

[Layla Gravely]

Good until the last few chapters. Then it was just rambling on.

[Nikki Johnson]

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