FANNY KEMBLE  (1809-1893)

Actor, Author, Abolitionist, Wife, Mother, Solo Reader of Shakespeare's Plays

As a subject, Fanny Kemble continues to fascinate.  Two recent biographies (Fanny Kemble’s Civil Wars by Catherine Clinton and Fanny and Adelaide by Ann Blainey) and a newly edited compilation of Kemble’s journals (edited by Clinton) attest to the current Kemble intrigue.  And Kemble’s most enduring work, Journal of a Residence on a Georgian Plantation in 1838-1839, the first eyewitness account by a white woman to condemn slavery, remains in print today.

JOURNAL OF A RESIDENCE ON A GEORGIAN PLANTATION IN 1838-1839 by Frances Anne Kemble 

Kemble’s most enduring work, Journal of a Residence on a Georgian Plantation in 1838-1839, was the first eyewitness account by a white woman to condemn slavery.  Although written twenty-two years prior to the Civil War, it was not initially published until 1863.  Fanny struggled with her decision to make it available to the public partly to preserve her husband’s reputation, but also to protect her children’s privacy and feelings.  Ultimately, she followed her Christian conscience and hoped that it would play some small part in the emancipation of the slaves.

Upon its publication, the journal was a huge success.  Sections of the Journal were read aloud on the floor of the House of Commons and to cotton workers in Manchester in order to sway British opinion against slavery.  The Ladies’ Emancipation Society of London quoted passages in their pamphlet, “The Essence of Slavery” and printed hundreds of thousands of copies.  Coincidentally, according to Catherine Clinton’s biography, the Journal was praised in the American press “on the same July day as news of the victory at Gettysburg splashed across the front page.”  The Confederate response, however, was utter disdain.

In 1883, Fanny’s youngest daughter, “Fan,” furious with her mother over the publication of her Journal, published Ten Years on a Georgian Plantation.  “Fan” painted a different, more positive picture of slavery.  Her book, however, was not favorably received.

Shortly after the Civil War, the Journal’s publication ceased.  There were also numerous attempts to challenge Kemble’s observations.  Apologists took aim at Kemble for debunking racial stereotypes.  In the 1930’s a granddaughter of Roswell King (the Overseer on the Butler slave plantations) accused Kemble of writing lies about her grandfather.  In 1960 historian, Margaret Davis Cate, published “Mistakes in Fanny Kemble’s Georgia Journal,” an article intended to discredit the authenticity of the Journal.  Cate had hoped to dissuade John A. Scott from publishing a modern edition of the Journal.

Scott continued with his project and his edition of the Journal was published in 1961 as part of the Civil War centennial commemoration.  This publication also corresponded to the civil rights movement’s battles over segregation in schools, parks, restaurants, buses etc.  (Scott noted that Fanny Kemble wrote poignantly in her Journal about the inhumanity of segregation on the slave plantation.)  A paperback edition followed in 1975. 

In the early 1980’s the journal lapsed out of print again for several years.  Fortunately, the Brown Thrasher edition (also edited and with a new introduction by Scott) published in 1984 remains in print today.  It continues to be read in high schools and colleges by teachers and students of African-American history, women’s studies, and theatre. 

Furthermore, over 60 pages of the Georgian Journal are included in the 2000 publication of Fanny Kemble’s Journals, edited and introduced by Clinton, who writes:  “Her compelling mix of evidence and analysis stirs each rising generation of readers into a better understanding of the conditions the slaves endured and the myths and realities that clashed every day on an antebellum slaveholder’s estate.  Kemble’s writings on slavery remain riveting reading.”

FANNY AND PIERCE BUTLER’S MARRIAGE

Fanny and Pierce’s relationship was far more complex than is possible to portray in our play.  From the very beginning of the marriage, Fanny wished to be treated as an equal partner while Pierce desperately desired to control his wife.  It became a bitter battle of wills.  Fanny’s pregnancy shortly after their wedding further complicated their relationship.  Fanny left her husband a number of times but returned for the sake of her family.  Their marriage was further marred by Pierce’s infidelity and gambling.  

After the family left the Georgian plantation and returned to Philadelphia, but prior to his petitioning the court for a divorce, Pierce drew up a set of “Conditions” for Fanny to follow.  If Fanny obeyed his “Conditions”, she would be allowed to remain under his roof and have access to his children.  (Under 19^th century American law, the children were legally his property.)  If she dared disobey his “Conditions”, Pierce would sever her ties with his daughters.   

Being about to reside in Mr. Butler’s house, I promise to observe the following conditions while living under his roof:  I will give up all acquaintances and intercourse of whatever kind, whether by word or letter with every member of the Sedgwick family, and hereafter I will treat them in every respect as entire strangers and as if I had never known them.  I will not keep up an acquaintance with any person of whom Mr. Butler may disapprove. I will observe an entire abstinence from all reference to the past.  Neither will I mention to any person any circumstance which may occur in Mr. Butler’s house of family.  I will neither write nor speak of Mr. Butler to anyone while I remain under his roof.  I will also conform to the arrangement of his house as I shall find them on entering it, and I promise, if I find myself unable to fulfill any of the aforesaid conditions, immediately to give notice to Mr. Butler of my inability to do so and to leave his house . . . I [Pierce Butler] require also that Mrs. Butler shall not speak of me.  Neither will I mention her name to anyone, and communication that I may have to make to her shall be made in writing and shall be addressed to herself.  Under no circumstances will I allow the intervention of a third person in any matter between us after she enters my family. 

[Excerpt from Fanny, the American Kemble by Fanny Kemble Wister, p. 189.]

The question remains:  how could two people so incompatible ever marry?  Beyond their obvious physical attraction, it seems reasonable to assume that Fanny believed Pierce would be a devoted husband just as he had been a loyal fan following adoringly in her footsteps from city to city on her American theatrical tour.  However, because Pierce was raised in America, he was used to young women appearing to be quite independent until marriage when they were expected to settle down into submissive domesticity.  In contrast, Fanny, as a professional actress, was accustomed to certain freedoms and independence.  While it is true that Fanny’s parents were quite protective of her in the public sphere – never permitting her into society unless chaperoned – she, nevertheless, financially supported herself as well as contributed to the support of her parents and siblings.  Thus, Fanny expected to continue to earn and spend her own money after her marriage.  Although she was willing to give up her career on the stage, she assumed that she would write and publish as she pleased.  This clash of cultural expectations proved to be a recipe for marital disaster.       

BOOKS BY AND ABOUT FANNY KEMBLE

Fanny Kemble’s Civil Wars by Catherine Clinton

This biography covers Kemble’s life and delves into her adult relationship with her children and grandchildren.

 Fanny and Adelaide by Ann Blainey

 In this double biography, Blainey delves into the loving yet competitive relationship between Fanny and her younger, opera-star sister, Adelaide. 

 Fanny Kemble’s Journals, Edited and with an Introduction by Catherine Clinton

This newly edited compilation takes passages from Fanny’s prolific autobiographical writings beginning in her teenage years through her seventies and combines them in one book.  The excerpts are culled from:

                    Journal of America  (1835)

                    A Year of Consolation  (1847)

                    Journal of a Residence on a Georgian Plantation  (1863)

                    Records of a Girlhood  (1878)

                    Records of Later Life  (1881)

                    Further Records  (1890)

Journal of a Residence on a Georgian Plantation in 1838-1839 by Frances Anne Kemble, Edited with an Introduction by John A Scott 

This Brown Thrasher edition of Fanny’s Georgian journal was published in 1984 and is currently in print.