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Author: Hay, Mrs. M. H.

Biography:

HAY, Mrs. M. H. (fl 1808)

Hay published only one book, identifying herself by initials which were most probably her husband’s on the title-page. The contents suggest a lady with intellectual and literary interests: there are several poems about books she has read, such as Colquhoun’s Treatise on Indigence, Cogan’s Ethical Treatise on the Passions, and Southey’s Remains of . . . Henry Kirke White (qq.v.). She quotes Italian but not classical languages. She did not publish by subscription and presumably had the means to subsidize publication by a prominent London firm. The dedication does not reveal any personal details such as the address of the author, but the dedicatee was Lady Elizabeth Percy (1781-1820), one of six children of the second Duke of Northumberland, Hugh Percy, and his second wife Frances Julia Percy. If Lady Elizabeth, who died unmarried at her London home, Sion House, was a personal friend, the dedication may be an indicator of Hay’s age and social class. The CR was succinct in its review: “Most of Mrs. M. H. Hay’s lines are very prosaic, but, perhaps . . . the elegance of the engravings will atone for the insipidity of the verse.” (ancestry.com 23 Mar. 2022; CR ser. 3 14 [1808], 217)

 

Books written (1):

London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, and Orme, 1808