Author: French, M. G. G.
Biography:
FRENCH, Mrs. G. G. (fl 1824)
There is only one publication, a Swedenborgian tract that includes 20 pages of "Poems" by "M. G. G. French" with a separate half-title. (The title-page itself mysteriously includes the date 1788, possibly in reference to the establishment of the New Jerusalem Church in London.) Internal evidence suggests that the author may in fact be "Mrs. French," whose improvisation on the theme of "Charity" for the Scottish poet Lady Nairne (1766-1845) is included with a headnote explaining the circumstances of its composition. Another poem celebrates the birthday of "my dear niece Miss M. E. Gregory." (Possibly the Margaret E. Gregory, born in 1810, who was buried as a nonconformist in Victoria Park Cemetery, Hackney, in 1855.) Mrs. French was clearly well connected and a warm advocate for Swedenborgianism: several poems praise Swedenborg and one laments the return of one of his works by someone who had borrowed but did not like it. Despite these clues no convincing evidence has been found for the identity of the Gregorys or the Frenches. (findmypast.com 16 Nov. 2021) HJ
Other Names:
- Mrs. G. G. French