Had a really packed day and this afternoon Husb and I went to Swansea’s Central Library for a talk about Fanny Wollstonecraft, daughter of the 18th century feminist Mary and half sister of the author of Frankenstein, Mary Godwin-Shelley. I’d never known that she had died in Swansea, committed suicide at the age of 22. Dysfunctional families are not a new thing and Fanny’s awful upbringing was a tragedy waiting to happen. When she died, her family refused to claim her body, suicide being so scandalous, and the poor young woman was buried in a pauper’s grave in Swansea. Local historians believe her final, unmarked, resting place is in the grounds of St. Matthew’s Church. I’ve known that place all my life, it’s where some of my family are buried, but until today I didn’t know that Fanny Wollstonecraft is also there.
It’s good practice to draw groups because it can be difficult to get the figures in the correct proportions according to the perspective. It’s also good to draw a range of ages and I was particularly fond of the elderly gent immediately in front of me. It’s lovely to draw that extreme age, loads of character. I used a variety of Faber Castell Pitt pens, sizes S, F, M and B into my A5 pink recycled sari sketchbook. This was one of a series of free monthly talks on local history at Central Library.
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Great drawing, didn’t know the history, very sad
It’s tragic. I want to go and see if I can find her grave now…..
Intersting post and indeed drawing.. thanks for sharing Rosie
Thank you Helen. It was a very interesting talk.
Reading about Fanny is amazingly depressing 😦 . I read a Jane Austen bio and that was equally bad.
It was a dreadful time to live – and die – in……
I’m surprised that a suicide was buried in consecrated ground – suicide was regarded as more than just a scandal at that time.
The family did a massive cover up. Her name wasn’t reported in the papers and for some years they claimed she’d gone to live in Ireland, then that she’d died of natural causes in Swansea. Shelley came to Swansea shortly after she died and handled it all. Very mysterious and sad. The historian giving the talk reckons she was buried on the periphery of the graveyard, as close as possible to unconsecrated ground, but her grave was never marked.
Great drawing Rosie! Russell.
Thanks Russell 🙂