Literary Encyclopedia

Mariana Starke

  • Terry F. Robinson (University of Colorado at Boulder)

Born in India to Mary and Richard Starke, the governor of the British East India Company's Fort St. George in Madras (now known as Chennai), Mariana Starke spent her early years in southeast India, absorbing Anglo-Indian life and culture before relocating with her family to Epsom, Surrey. Starke's experiences in India would color her later dramatic productions, including her first play, a sentimental comedy entitled The Sword of Peace, or a Voyage of Love, which opened at the Haymarket Theatre, London, on 9 August 1788 and enjoyed a run of six performances. Her next production, a tragedy called The Widow of Malabar — an adaptation of Antoine Marin Le Mierre's La Veuve du Malabar (1770) — wa

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First published 29 January 2008

Citation: Robinson, Terry F.. "Mariana Starke". The Literary Encyclopedia. 29 January 2008

[http://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=11984, accessed 30 July 2010.]

 

Life, Works and Times

Related Groups

Dates:

  • c. 1762 to 1838 (Life Span)
  • 1788 to 1820 (Activity Span)

Places:

  • India (Birth)
  • England (Primary Activity)

Activities:

  • Dramatist/ Playwright (Primary)
  • Novelist (Primary)
  • Travel writer (Primary)