Eliza Dorothea Cobbe, Lady Tuite

Lady Eliza Dorothea Tuite (née Cobbe) (c. 1764-1850) was an Irish author and poet. She was a member of the Anglo-Irish gentry, the distinguished Cobbe family.

Eliza Dorothea Cobbe, Lady Tuite
Born	1764 Dublin, Ireland
Died	1850 Bath
Pen name	Lady Tuite
Occupation	Writer, Poet
Nationality	Irish
Genre	Romantic Poetry

Life and work

Elizabeth Dorothea Cobbe was born circa 1764. She was the daughter of Colonel Thomas Cobbe and Lady Eliza Beresford. Lady Tuite married a naval officer, Sir Henry Tuite, 8th Baronet, in November 1784. He died in 1805.

Lady Tuite was a poet in the romantic style, her first book included five poems written 'as a sylph', an idea which came from the somewhat earlier style of work of Pope and Rowe.[1] Others of her works discuss the value of war and honour of dying for a country.[2] “Both poems and songs tend to be patriotic in theme with some of the longer poems providing vivid descriptions of social corruption and advocating reform."[3]

She died in 1850, 45 years after her husband. When she was buried it was in the vault of her friend, Mrs Lysaght, and not beside her husband. She is thought to have been living in Bath at this time.[4][5][6][7]

Lady Tuite was the granddaughter of the Most Reverend Charles Cobbe Archbishop of Dublin.[8] She was also related to Elizabeth Rawdon, Countess of Moira and was the great aunt of Frances Power Cobbe, a noted Victorian reformer.[9][10]

Lady Moira was known for holding intellectual salons, where Irish culture was discussed and promoted; this is discussed on the dedication page of her book Poems.[11]

Power Cobbe visited her great aunt in 1834 when she was still driving around Bath behind a four horse team in her seventies. Her books were published when Power Cobbe was a teen and she is thought to have been an influence on the younger woman.[4]

Works

Poetry

• Poems. By Lady Tuite Tuite, Eliza Dorothea, Lady, London, 1796. (Second edition 1799)
• To a friend Tuite, Eliza Dorothea, Lady, 1782
• Miscellaneous Poetry Tuite, Eliza Dorothea, Lady, 1841

Children's books

• Edwina and Mary Tuite, Eliza Dorothea, Lady, 1838

References

1. Paula R. Backscheider. Elizabeth Singer Rowe and the Development of the English Novel. JHU Press, 8 Feb 2013 - Literary Criticism - 320 pages.
2. Devoney Looser. The Cambridge Companion to Women's Writing in the Romantic Period. Cambridge University Press, 12 Mar 2015 - Literary Criticism - 274 pages.
3. Janet Todd. A Dictionary of British and American Women Writers, 1660-1800.
4. Sally Mitchell. Frances Power Cobbe: Victorian Feminist, Journalist, Reformer. University of Virginia Press, 2004 - Biography & Autobiography - 463 pages.
5. "Romantic poets". Retrieved 18 February 2016.
6. by Burke, Bernard, Sir, 1814-1892 (1869). "A genealogical and heraldic dictionary of the peerage and baronetage of the British Empire". publisher London : Harrison. Retrieved 18 February 2016.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
7. Paula R. Backscheider (1 Jun 2010). Eighteenth-Century Women Poets and Their Poetry: Inventing Agency, Inventing Genre. JHU Press.
8. "Peerage". Retrieved 18 February 2016.
9. "Peerage". Retrieved 18 February 2016.
10. Alan Hager. Encyclopedia of British Writers, 16th, 17th, and 18th Centuries. Infobase Publishing, 14 May 2014, English - 818 pages.
11. Amy Prendergast. Literary Salons Across Britain and Ireland in the Long Eighteenth Century. Palgrave Macmillan, 25 Aug 2015 - History - 250 pages.

Further reading

• Poems Between Women, "FOUR CENTURIES OF LOVE, ROMANTIC FRIENDSHIP, AND DESIRE" Edited by Emma Donoghue
• Burke, Tim. “Eliza Dorothea Cobbe, Lady Tuite,” in Irish Women Poets of the Romantic Period. Ed. Stephen Behrendt. Alexandria, VA: Alexander Street Press,2008