Elizabeth Knepp

Last updated October 01, 2024

Elizabeth Knepp or Knipp (died 1681) was a British actress, singer, and dancer.^[1]^[2] The earliest theatrical reference to Knepp is from 1664, as being intended by Thomas Killigrew to play the part of Lusetta in his play Thomaso.^[3] This means that she was probably in his troupe, the King's Company, by that time.^[1] From 1666 onwards she is recorded as playing many parts, both tragic and comic, including Lady Fidget in William Wycherley's The Country Wife .^[4] In 1664, she became the first woman to perform the title role in Jonson's Epicoene .^[5] She also occasionally spoke prologues and epilogues, and often danced and sang in or between acts.

Knepp's husband, Christopher Knepp, was a horse dealer who did not travel with her to London very often; he was reputedly "ill-natured" and may have treated her badly.^[6]^[7] Samuel Pepys was fascinated by Knepp, and his diary for 1666—68 is full of references to her, including mentions of amorous encounters, and descriptions of how much he enjoyed her flirtatiousness and especially her singing.^[8]^[9]^[10] In the late 1670s she became mistress to the actor Joseph Haines, and died in 1681 giving birth to his stillborn child.

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Jane Birch was a servant to Elizabeth and Samuel Pepys from when she was 14 and then, off and on, until Samuel's death. She is notable because over 10% of the population of London were women servants and her life is well documented by her employer's detailed personal diary.

References

1 2 Payne, Deborah C. (2015). "Theatrical Spectatorship in Pepys's Diary". The Review of English Studies. 66 (273): 87–105. ISSN 0034-6551.
↑ Gainor, J. Ellen; Garner, Stanton B.; Puchner, Martin (2009). The Norton Anthology of Drama: Antiquity through the eighteenth century. W. W. Norton. ISBN 978-0-393-93281-2.
↑ Roberts, David (2013), Major, Philip (ed.), Thomas Killigrew, Theatre Manager, Ashgate Publishing, pp. 63–91, ISBN 978-1-4094-6668-0 , retrieved 30 September 2024
↑ Vance, John A. (2000). William Wycherley and the Comedy of Fear. University of Delaware Press. ISBN 978-0-87413-708-8.
↑ Murray, Barbara A. (May 2003). "'Transgressing Nature's Law': Representations of Women and the Adapted Version of the Tempest , 1667". Literature & History. 12 (1): 19–40. doi:10.7227/LH.12.1.2. ISSN 0306-1973.
↑ Swift, Deborah (22 October 2019). Entertaining Mr Pepys: A thrilling, sweeping historical page-turner. Headline. ISBN 978-1-78615-414-9.
↑ Merritt, J. F. (30 August 2001). Imagining Early Modern London: Perceptions and Portrayals of the City from Stow to Strype, 1598-1720. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-77346-1.
↑ Mitchell, Stephen C. (2013). "Asparagus, Urinary Odor, and 1,2-Dithiolane-4-Carboxylic Acid". Perspectives in Biology and Medicine. 56 (3): 341–351. ISSN 1529-8795.
↑ Keating, Erin M. (2017). "The Role of Manuscript Newsletters in Charles II's Performance of Power". Restoration: Studies in English Literary Culture, 1660-1700. 41 (2): 33–52. ISSN 0162-9905.
↑ Chico, Tita (2005). Designing Women: The Dressing Room in Eighteenth-century English Literature and Culture. Bucknell University Press. ISBN 978-0-8387-5605-8.

Sources

Highfill, Philip Jr, Burnim, Kalman A., and Langhans, Edward (1973–93). Biographical Dictionary of Actors, Actresses, Musicians, Dancers, Managers and Other Stage Personnel in London, 1660–1800. 16 volumes. Carbondale, Illinois: Southern Illinois University Press.

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[:0-1] 1 2 Payne, Deborah C. (2015). "Theatrical Spectatorship in Pepys's Diary". The Review of English Studies. 66 (273): 87–105. ISSN 0034-6551.

[2] Gainor, J. Ellen; Garner, Stanton B.; Puchner, Martin (2009). The Norton Anthology of Drama: Antiquity through the eighteenth century. W. W. Norton. ISBN 978-0-393-93281-2.

[3] Roberts, David (2013), Major, Philip (ed.), Thomas Killigrew, Theatre Manager, Ashgate Publishing, pp. 63–91, ISBN 978-1-4094-6668-0 , retrieved 30 September 2024

[4] Vance, John A. (2000). William Wycherley and the Comedy of Fear. University of Delaware Press. ISBN 978-0-87413-708-8.

[5] Murray, Barbara A. (May 2003). "'Transgressing Nature's Law': Representations of Women and the Adapted Version of the Tempest , 1667". Literature & History. 12 (1): 19–40. doi:10.7227/LH.12.1.2. ISSN 0306-1973.

[6] Swift, Deborah (22 October 2019). Entertaining Mr Pepys: A thrilling, sweeping historical page-turner. Headline. ISBN 978-1-78615-414-9.

[7] Merritt, J. F. (30 August 2001). Imagining Early Modern London: Perceptions and Portrayals of the City from Stow to Strype, 1598-1720. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-77346-1.

[8] Mitchell, Stephen C. (2013). "Asparagus, Urinary Odor, and 1,2-Dithiolane-4-Carboxylic Acid". Perspectives in Biology and Medicine. 56 (3): 341–351. ISSN 1529-8795.

[9] Keating, Erin M. (2017). "The Role of Manuscript Newsletters in Charles II's Performance of Power". Restoration: Studies in English Literary Culture, 1660-1700. 41 (2): 33–52. ISSN 0162-9905.

[10] Chico, Tita (2005). Designing Women: The Dressing Room in Eighteenth-century English Literature and Culture. Bucknell University Press. ISBN 978-0-8387-5605-8.

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