Dorothea Jordan

Dorothea Bland was born near Waterford City in Ireland on 22 November 1761,{{cite encyclopedia|title=Dorothea Jordan|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Britannica Online|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Dorothea-Jordan|access-date=3 May 2020}}{{cite book|author=Jerrold, Clare Armstrong Bridgman|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ivU_AAAAYAAJ&q=clare+armstrong+bridgman+jerrold+dorothea+jordan+birth+november|page=31|title=The Story of Dorothy Jordan|publisher=Brentano's|date=1914}} and was baptised at St Martin in the Fields, Middlesex on 5 December of that year.[http://anthonyjcamp.com/page13.htm Anthony J. Camp: Ancestry of Mrs Jordan] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110108171834/http://anthonyjcamp.com/page13.htm |date=8 January 2011 }} [retrieved 4 December 2014]. She was the third of six children born to Francis Bland (1736 – 2 January 1778, in Dover) and his mistress, Grace Phillips (c. 1740 – 1789 in Edinburgh). Her siblings were:

• George Bland (c. 1758 – 1807 in Boston, Massachusetts; actor and singer)
• Hester Bland (baptised 2 March 1760 at St Anne Soho, Middlesex – buried at St David's, as of Trelethin, 8 March 1848)
• Lucy Bland (1763/64 – 1778 in Trelethin, St David's, 1778)
• Francis Bland ({{fl.|1813}}; a captain, unmarried and without issue)
• Nathaniel Phillips Bland (1766/67 – buried at St David's, Pembrokeshire, 3 June 1830).

Her paternal grandparents were Nathaniel Bland (1695/96, in Killarney, County Kerry – 1760), Vicar General of Ardfert and Aghadoe, and Judge of the Prerogative Court of Dublin, Ireland, and his second wife Lucy (née Heaton). The reports about Jordan's maternal ancestry are unproven; Grace Phillips has been described as the daughter of a Welsh clergyman, whose parish was at Trelethyn.Claire Tomalin, Mrs Jordan's Profession, p. 10.

Before April 1774, when she was age 13, Jordan's father, who worked as a stagehand, abandoned the family to marry an Irish actress. However, he continued to support the family by sending them meagre sums of money. This allowance was on the condition that the children would not use his last name.{{Cite ODNB|url=https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-15119|title=Jordan, Dorothy [real name Dorothy Phillips] (1761–1816), actress {{!}} Oxford Dictionary of National Biography|language=en|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/15119|access-date=24 October 2019|year=2004}} Jordan then adopted her mother's maiden name, Phillips.

File:Portrait of Mrs Dorothy Jordan (1761–1816) as Rosalind in Shakespeare's ‘As You Like It’.jpg by William Beechey, 1787]]

The historical record of Jordan's first stage appearance is not clear. Some sources claim that she made her debut in 1777 in Dublin as Phoebe in As You Like It, whilst others suggest she premiered as Lucy in the Interlude The Virgin Unmask'd, on 3 November 1779.{{Cite book|author1=Highfill, Philip Henry|title=A biographical dictionary of actors, actresses, musicians, dancers, managers & other stage personnel in London, 1660-1800. Volume 10, M'Intosh to Nash|others=Burnim, Kalman A., Langhans, Edward A.|isbn=9780585030326|location=Carbondale|oclc=44959689}} The knowledge of Jordan's time and other roles performed in Ireland is fragmentary; however, she is known to have played Priscilla Tomboy in Bickerstaff's The Romp, Anne in Richard III, and Adelaide in the tragedy The Count of Narbonne. At the Smock Alley Theatre, under the management of Richard Daly, Jordan began playing male roles in the company's "reversed" cast. Documentation shows her last appearance in Dublin came on 16 May 1782 when she spoke The Maid of Oaks' Prologue. At the time she was pregnant with the illegitimate child of Daly, who was married.

Rumours spread and she fled to England, specifically Leeds, where she was employed by Tate Wilkinson, manager of the York Company.{{Cite book|first=James|last=Boaden|title=The Life of Mrs Jordan, Volume 2 : Including Original Private Correspondence, and Numerous Anecdotes of her Contemporaries|date=5 May 2013|isbn=9781139452915|publisher=Cambridge University Press|oclc=967377202}} It was during this move that she adopted the surname "Jordan," and like all the other women in the company (both unmarried and married), adopted the title "Mrs." Her first performance in England was the tragic role of Calista in The Fair Penitent on 11 July 1782, for which she had been tutored by the scholar Cornelious Swan.{{Cite book|first=Claire|last=Tomalin|title=Mrs Jordan's profession|date=2012|publisher=Penguin|isbn=9780241963296|location=London|oclc=779244420}} Wilkinson paid her 15 shillings a week, and she quickly won over the favour of her audiences, packing theatres. Despite her versatile acting talents, the critics were not pleased with her performing tragedy roles. Dora faced harsh criticism for these roles as she was not considered socially acceptable to play women of a higher standing.Mrs Jordan (Dorothy Jordan). (18th–20th century). (Album containing press cuttings, exhibition catalogue: 'Mrs Jordan: The Duchess of Drury Lane', 1995); engraved portraits; article; sheet music ('The Willow'), press cuttings, book extract and poster.) University of Bristol, Theatre Collection. Bristol, United Kingdom. Swan wrote to Tate to express his amazement at Jordan's talents:{{Cite book|first=Fiona|last=Ritchie|title=Women and Shakespeare in the eighteenth century|date=2 June 2014|isbn=9781107046306|location=New York, NY|publisher=Cambridge University Press|oclc=855957476}}

{{Quote|text="For really Wilkinson," said he, "I have given the Jordan but three lessons, and she is so adroit at receiving my instructions, that I declare she repeats the character as well as Mrs. Cibber ever did."}}

Jordan performed in the Yorkshire Circuit with Wilkinson's company from 1782 to 1785.{{Cite book|last=Tomalin|first=Claire|url=https://archive.org/details/mrsjordansprofes00toma|title=Mrs. Jordan's profession : the actress and the prince|date=1995|publisher=Alfred A. Knopf|isbn=0-679-41071-6|edition=1st American|location=New York|oclc=30895329|url-access=registration}} She was able to learn her lines quickly and seemed to have a natural talent, which made the other actresses in the company jealous. In her first few months, she was given the role of Fanny in The Clandestine Marriage, which only made her more unpopular with the women in the company.

During this first tour, while in Hull, Jordan gave birth to her first daughter Frances. After the delivery, while she cared for the baby, the actresses of the company "blackened her character among the people of Hull." When she returned to the stage on Boxing Day playing Calista in The Fair Penitent, she was met with strong disapproval. Audiences felt that the similarities between Jordan and Calista were too strong. However, Wilkinson came to Jordan's aid to dispel the gossip, painting Jordan as a mild-mannered victim. Through Wilkinson's support and Jordan's hard work and good nature, she was eventually able to win over the people before the company returned to York.

Some time later, while in York, Sarah Siddons came to visit Wilkinson and saw Dora Jordan perform in one of her popular breeches roles. Siddons, however, was not impressed with Jordan's performance and said that she should remain on the Yorkshire Circuit for she was "not up to London."{{Cite book|last=Tomalin|first=Claire|url=https://archive.org/details/mrsjordansprofes00toma|title=Mrs Jordan's profession : the story of a great actress and a future King|date=1994|publisher=Viking|isbn=0670841595|location=London|oclc=31377468|url-access=registration}} This remark was soon discounted when William Smith came from London and offered Jordan a salary of £4 per week at Drury Lane. She took the offer and performed for Wilkinson's company for a final time on 9 September 1785 before departing to London with her mother, two-year-old daughter, and sister Hester.

Although no specific dates can be sourced, Dora is believed to have performed the role of Lady Teazle in Sheridan's The School for Scandal before she arrived in London.{{Cite book|last=Piozzi|first=Hester Lynch|title=The Piozzi letters : correspondence of Hester Lynch Piozzi, 1784–1821 (formerly Mrs. Thrale)|publisher=University of Delaware Press|others=Bloom, Edward A. (Edward Alan), 1914–1994., Bloom, Lillian D.|year=2002 |isbn=0874131154|location=Newark|oclc=17441329}} ©1989–©2002 In 1785, she made her first London appearance at Drury Lane as Peggy in The Country Girl. The Morning Post the next day reported on her performance:{{Cite journal|last=Molloy|first=J. Fitzgerald|date=April 1892|title=Dorothy Jordan|url=https://pmt-eu.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/primo-explore/fulldisplay?docid=TN_proquest3238002&context=PC&vid=44BU_VU1&search_scope=default_scope&tab=default_tab&lang=en_US|journal=The English Illustrated Magazine|volume=103|pages=567–571|id={{ProQuest|}}}}

{{Quote|text=Nature has endowed her with talents sufficient to combat and excel her competitors in the same walk. Her person and manner are adapted for representing the peculiarities of youthful innocence and frivolity; and her tones of voice are audible and melodious.}}

File:Portrait of Mrs. Jordan, as Peggy (4673969) (cropped).jpg, David Garrick's tamer adaption of Wycherley's earlier, more scandalous play The Country Wife]]

Gradually, it came to be recognised that her talent lay in comedy. She was acclaimed for her "naturalness" on stage, and called a "child of nature",{{Cite journal|last=Perry|first=Gillian|date=11 October 2004|title=Staging Gender and "Hairy Signs": Representing Dorothy Jordan's Curls|journal=Eighteenth-Century Studies|language=en|volume=38|issue=1|pages=145–163|doi=10.1353/ecs.2004.0061|issn=1086-315X|s2cid=143690757}} a slightly derogatory term for someone who is of illegitimate birth. Audiences also enjoyed her performances in such breeches roles{{Citation|last=Denlinger|first=Elizabeth Campbell|title=Before Victoria: extraordinary women of the British romantic era|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dVIGcfOMwn8C&pg=PA81|year=2005|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=978-0-231-13630-3}}

as Viola in Twelfth Night, Sir Harry Wildair in The Constant Couple, and William in Rosina.

In addition to her being "the most admired comic actress of her time", Jordan was a competent Shakespearean and tragic actress, playing the roles of Ophelia, Imogen in Cymbeline, Emilia in Othello, and Zara in Aaron Hill's play of that name. When she first auditioned for Wilkinson, on being asked whether she preferred "tragedy, comedy, or opera?" she answered "All."{{Cite book|last=Boaden|first=James|title=The life of Mrs. Jordan: including original private correspondence, and numerous anecdotes of her contemporaries|publisher=Edward Bull, Holles Street|year=1831|location=London}}

Play them "all" she did, but Jordan found less success in playing women of higher social standing with some individuals believing that she lacked the "artifice and incisiveness" of other actresses who commonly played such roles.

In addition to playing at Drury Lane and Covent Garden, Jordan continued to return to the provincial circuits. She returned to Wilkinson's Circuit in York several times, as well as Edinburgh, Margate, Liverpool, Bath, Bristol, and Manchester.

Her engagement at Drury Lane lasted until 1809, and she played a large variety of parts. During the rebuilding of Drury Lane she played at the Haymarket; she transferred her services in 1811 to Covent Garden. Here, in 1814, she made her last appearance on the London stage, and the following year, at Margate, retired altogether.{{EB1911|inline=1|wstitle=Jordan, Dorothea|volume=15|pages=508–509}}

During her time on the stage, she wrote the popular song "The Bluebells of Scotland", published under her name around 1800.British Musical Biography: A Dictionary of Musical Artists, Authors, and Composers Born in Britain and Its Colonies, James Duff Brown and Stephen Samuel Stratton, Birmingham, England: S. S. Stratton, 1897, p. 225

In 1815, the renowned theatre critic, William Hazlitt, wrote:

{{Quote|text=Mrs Jordan's excellences were all natural to her. It was not as an actress, but as herself, that she charmed everyone. Nature had formed in her most prodigal humour; and when nature is in the humour to make a woman all that is delightful, she does it most effectually...Mrs Jordan, the child of nature, whose voice was a cordial to the heart, because it came from it, rich, full, like the luscious juice of the rich grape.}}

File:William IV by Sir Martin Archer Shee.jpg by Martin Archer Shee, 1800. Jordan was in a long-standing relationship with the third son of George III who later inherited the throne as William IV]]

While working as a milliner's assistant, she received her first proposal of marriage, from a man known to posterity only as Smith, whose father considered her much too young to marry. The next proposal came when she was acting in Waterford, where she spent a summer while the Dublin theatres were closed. There she met Charles Doyne, an army lieutenant. He "felt hopeful" of being accepted, but her mother regarded him as unsuitable, and Jordan returned to Dublin intent on success in the theatre.Claire Tomalin, Mrs Jordan's Profession, pp. 17, 20.

She had an affair with Richard Daly, who was manager of Dublin's Crow Street Theatre and then of Smock Alley. Daly was married, and she had an illegitimate child with him:

• Frances Daly (also called Fanny; born in September 1782; she later changed her name to Frances Bettesworth in 1806 and married Thomas Alsop in 1807; she died 2 June 1821).Separated from her husband, she became an actress like her mother and died (probably from an overdose of laudanum) in America in 1821. [https://books.google.com/books?id=mjeImcc9rGwC&dq=frances+daly+1782+dorothea+ford&pg=PA259 Philip H. Highfill, Kalman A. Burnim, Edward A. Langhans: A Biographical Dictionary of Actors, Actresses, Musicians, Dancers, Managers and others Stage Personnel in London, vol. 8: Hough to Keyse, p. 259.]; [https://books.google.com/books?id=DAqh7z7OYW0C&dq=frances+daly+1782&pg=PA112 Wendy C. Nielsen: Women Warriors in Romantic Drama, Chapter IV, p. 112.] [retrieved 4 December 2014]; [http://imagesearch.library.illinois.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/actors&CISOPTR=1990&CISOBOX=1&REC=6 Portrait of Mrs. Frances Bettesworth Alsop, ca. 1817 in: Library of University of Illinois at Urbania-Champaign.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141211020108/http://imagesearch.library.illinois.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=%2Factors&CISOPTR=1990&CISOBOX=1&REC=6 |date=11 December 2014 }} [Retrieved 5 December 2014]

Jordan's work with Richard Daly helped establish her as an actress in Dublin until the two separated and she left for England.{{Cite book|title=The Thespian dictionary; or, Dramatic biography of the eighteenth century; containing sketches of the lives, productions, &c., of all the principal managers, ...|date=3 May 2010|publisher=Printed by J. Cundee for T. Hurst; etc., etc.|language=en|hdl=2027/uc2.ark:/13960/t4zg6kj6s?urlappend=%3Bseq=145}}

She then went to work for the theatre company operated by Tate Wilkinson. It was at this point she adopted the name Mrs. Jordan – a reference to her escape across the Irish Sea, likened to the River Jordan.{{cite book|last1=Sergeant|first1=Philip Walsingham|url=https://archive.org/details/mrsjordanchildof00sergrich|title=Mrs. Jordan: Child of Nature|date=1913|publisher=Hutchinson & Company|page=[https://archive.org/details/mrsjordanchildof00sergrich/page/52 52]|language=en}} The name "Mrs Jordan" was also reportedly given to her by Richard Daly for "motherly reasons", soon after she gave birth to their first illegitimate child.{{Cite book|title=The Thespian dictionary; or, Dramatic biography of the eighteenth century; containing sketches of the lives, productions, &c., of all the principal managers, ...|year=1802|publisher=Printed by J. Cundee for T. Hurst; etc., etc.|language=en|hdl=2027/uc2.ark:/13960/t4zg6kj6s?urlappend=%3Bseq=145}} She appeared at Wilkinson's York Circuit theatres, including The Theatre, Leeds, where she complained of uncomfortable working conditions.[http://www.leodis.net/discovery/discovery.asp?pageno=&page=2003218_251720608&topic=2003219_253704250&subsection=2003625_449382961 Leodis, Discovering Leeds: The Theatre] Retrieved 17 December 2013

Shortly after her affair with Daly was over, she began an affair with George Inchbald, the male lead in the Wilkinson company. According to biographer Claire Tomalin, Jordan had hopes of their marrying, but he was wary of committing himself; later he regretted this and proposed to her, but she turned him down.Claire Tomalin, Mrs Jordan's Profession, pp. 37, 72.

In late 1786, Jordan began an affair with Sir Richard Ford, then a police magistrate and lawyer. She moved in with him, believing he intended marriage.Claire Tomalin, Mrs Jordan's Profession, p. 75. They had three illegitimate children:[https://books.google.com/books?id=mjeImcc9rGwC&dq=frances+daly+1782+dorothea+ford&pg=PA259 Philip H. Highfill, Kalman A. Burnim, Edward A. Langhans: A Biographical Dictionary of Actors, Actresses, Musicians, Dancers, Managers and others Stage Personnel in London, vol. 8: Hough to Keyse, p. 259.] [retrieved 4 December 2014].

• Dorothea Maria Ford (born August 1787, married in 1809 to Frederick Edward March, a natural son of Lord Henry FitzGerald).According to Anthony Camp, she was a mistress of the Duke of Clarence for some time after her marriage. [http://anthonyjcamp.com/page8.htm Anthony J. Camp: Royal Mistresses and Bastards, No. 15-24] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141207170829/http://anthonyjcamp.com/page8.htm |date=7 December 2014 }} [retrieved 5 December 2014].
• A son (who died at birth in October or November 1788).
• Lucy Hester Ford (born 1789, died 1850, married Samuel Hawker—later General and Sir—in 1810).

She left Ford when marriage was no longer possible.pg. 90 & 91, Ladies of the Bedchamber, Dennis Friedman Jordan's children were placed under the care of her sister Hester, who moved with them to a house in Brompton. According to a settlement dated 4 November 1791, Jordan transferred all her savings to Ford and Hester for the maintenance and education of the children; in addition, she allowed them an annual payment and granted Hester an allowance for her services.[https://books.google.com/books?id=CDuCchT6PE0C&dq=dorothea+maria+ford+lucy+hester+ford&pg=PA693 The Encyclopedia of Romantic Literature, p. 693.] [retrieved 4 December 2014].[https://books.google.com/books?id=mjeImcc9rGwC&dq=dorothea+maria+ford+lucy+hester+ford&pg=PA253 Philip H. Highfill, Kalman A. Burnim, Edward A. Langhans: A Biographical Dictionary of Actors, Actresses, Musicians, Dancers, Managers and others Stage Personnel in London, vol. 8: Hough to Keyse, p. 253.] [retrieved 4 December 2014].

File:The Devil to pay;- the wife metamorphos'd, or Neptune reposing, after Fording the Jordan (BM 1868,0808.6115).jpg cartoon, Jordan is depicted in bed with the Duke of Clarence.]]

In 1790, Jordan became the mistress of Prince William, Duke of Clarence, the third son of King George III. He had met her at Drury Lane. She began living with him first at Clarence Lodge and later, in 1797, at Bushy House.[https://books.google.com/books?id=4qlUWvVCnwIC&dq=%22Dorothy+Jordan%22+AND+%22Bushy+House%22&pg=PA212 Google Books] The Story of Dorothy Jordan Armstrong, Clare & Jerrold, Bridgman. Ayer Publishing, 1969. {{ISBN|978-0-405-08672-4}}

Together they had 10 illegitimate children, all of whom took the surname FitzClarence:

• George FitzClarence (29 January 1794{{snd}}20 March 1842), created Earl of Munster in 1831. Married Mary Wyndham.
• Henry Edward FitzClarence (27 March 1795{{snd}}September 1817). Unmarried.
• Sophia FitzClarence (25 August 1796{{snd}}10 April 1837), married Philip Sidney, 1st Baron De L'Isle and Dudley.
• Mary FitzClarence (19 December 1798{{snd}}13 July 1864), married General Charles Richard Fox. No issue.
• Lieutenant General Lord Frederick FitzClarence GCH (9 December 1799{{snd}}30 October 1854), officer in the British Army. Married Lady Augusta Boyle.
• Elizabeth FitzClarence (17 January 1801{{snd}}16 January 1856), married William Hay, 18th Earl of Erroll.
• Rear-Admiral Lord Adolphus FitzClarence, Royal Guelphic Order, Aide-de-camp, Royal Navy (18 February 1802{{snd}}17 May 1856). Unmarried.
• Augusta FitzClarence (17 November 1803{{snd}}8 December 1865) married, firstly, Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine, 5 July 1827, married secondly, Admiral Lord Frederick Gordon-Hallyburton.
• Lord Augustus FitzClarence (1 March 1805{{snd}}14 June 1854), rector at Mapledurham in Oxfordshire. Married Sarah Elizabeth Catharine Gordon.
• Amelia FitzClarence (21 March 1807{{snd}}2 July 1858), married Lucius Bentinck Cary, 10th Viscount Falkland.

During this time, Jordan was granted a yearly stipend of £1,200 ({{Inflation|UK|1200|1790|fmt=eq|r=-4|cursign=£}}), but she continued to perform at both Drury Lane and Covent Garden as well as on provincial tours until her 1811 separation from Prince William.{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iZWSEAAAQBAJ&dq=dorothea+jordan+william+iv+separated+1811&pg=PA44 | title=William IV: The Last Hanoverian King of Britain | isbn=9781399098601 | last1=Kiste | first1=John Van Der | date=20 October 2022 | publisher=Pen and Sword History }} In 1811, Jordan was given an annual stipend of £4,400 ({{Inflation|UK|4400|1811|fmt=eq|r=-4|cursign=£}}) by Prince William and custody of their daughters while he retained custody of their sons. Half of her stipend was specifically earmarked for the care of the children with a stipulation stating that in order to continue receiving that money, and retain custody, Jordan must not return to the stage.

In 1814, when her son-in-law, Thomas Alsop, became heavily in debt, Jordan returned to the stage to help pay off that debt. Prince William took legal action and removed their remaining daughters from her care and ended Jordan's yearly stipend. Jordan had written letters to British theatres and newspapers pleading with them to rehire her, acknowledging her previous affairs and business dealings with some of her past companions.

Jordan sold her home in 1815 and moved to Boulogne, France, assuming the alias Mrs. James or Madame James or Mrs. Johnson. Not having been summoned back to England, she moved to Versailles by the end of the year. Soon after, she moved to Saint-Cloud, near Paris. While in France, she was defrauded by her eldest daughter, Frances, and son-in-law, Thomas Alsop, after they accumulated large sums of debt in her name. During this time, both her mental and physical health declined, and she suffered from "bilious attacks, pains in her side, swollen ankles, shortness of breath and increasing general weakness". She wrote in a letter "it is not, believe me, the feelings of pride, avarice, or the absence of those comforts I have all my life been accustomed to, that is killing me by inches; it is the loss of my only remaining comfort, the hope I used to live on from time to time, of seeing my children".

She died alone on 5 July 1816 from a ruptured blood vessel caused by violent inflammation of the chest. She was buried in the town cemetery of Saint-Cloud.

{{Reflist}}

• Mrs. Jordan's Profession: The Actress and the Prince, Claire Tomalin, 17 October 1994, Publisher: Viking, {{ISBN|0-670-84159-5}}
• Ladies of the Bedchamber, Dennis Friedman, 2003, Publisher: Peter Owen, {{ISBN|0-7206-1244-6}}
• [https://books.google.com/books?id=kRGJhWpf2qcC&pg=PA177 The Delectable Dora Jordan], In Otis Skinner (1928) Mad Folk of the Theatre Publisher: Ayer Publishing, {{ISBN|978-0-8369-1851-9}}

• {{Commons category-inline}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Jordan, Dorothea}}

Category:1761 births

Category:1816 deaths

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Category:18th-century English actresses

Category:18th-century Irish actresses

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Category:English stage actresses

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