Charlotte Hayes
Charlotte Hayes | |
|---|---|
| Born | c.1725 Genoa,Italy |
| Died | 1813(aged 89–90) |
| Nationality | British |
| Other names | Charlotte Ward |
| Occupation | Brothelkeeper |
| Partner | Dennis O'Kelly |
Charlotte Hayes(c. 1725–1813[1]) was a highly successfulbrothelkeeper in earlyGeorgian London,and the owner of some of the city's most luxurious brothels in and around King's Place, inSt James's.[2][3]
Biography
[edit]Although the precise details of Hayes's early life are unknown, it is believed she was born inGenoa[4](as cited in the 1761 edition ofHarris's List of Covent Garden Ladies)[2]to the courtesan and brothel keeper, Elizabeth Ward.[1]In her early career as a prostitute, she was known as Charlotte Ward.[4]Eventually, she would grow to be considered one of the most desirable 'women of the town', along with Lucy Cooper andFanny Murray.It is unknown why or when she adopted the surname of Hayes.[4]
In the 1750s, Charlotte had two fairly well-documented liaisons; one with Robert "Beau" Tracy, the wealthy son of a judge, and another with his friend,Samuel Derrick,an impoverished Irish poet who became the author ofHarris's List of Covent Garden Ladies.Upon Derrick's death in 1769[5]he was buried at St Peter and St Paul's church, Bath, on 2 April 1769, according to its parish register, and bequeathed the profits of the final edition ofHarris's Listto her.
In spite of her success as a brothel keeper, first in Soho,[1]at Berwick Street and Great Marlborough Street, and then in St James's, at King's Street, King's Place,[3]and Arlington Street,[6]Hayes was committed todebtors' prisonson several occasions.[1]Fergus Linnane writes that Hayes was committed to theMarshalseaprison in 1776 for refusing to pay £50 to a bankrupt lacemaker.[7]
During her stay in theFleet Prisonin the late 1750s, she metDennis O'Kelly,who became her partner in life as well as in business.[1]Contrary to popular belief, Hayes and O'Kelly never married, but lived ascommon-law husband and wife.[2]In her later years, she chose to be known as Mrs O'Kelly or Charlotte Kelly.
Dennis O'Kelly was a professional gambler and race horse owner and eventually made his fortune through the purchase of the prize-winning stallionEclipse.[1]With the money he earned through breeding Eclipse, and what Charlotte earned through running several brothels, the couple were able to purchase two estates, Clay Hill outside ofEpsom,and later Canons Park, in addition to numerous properties throughout St James. It is believed that Charlotte's enterprise was worth £20,000,[7]but that collectively, she and Dennis O'Kelly owned assets worth £70,000 by the early 1780s.
After Dennis' death in 1787,[8]Charlotte's health began to decline.[1]Correspondence between Dennis O'Kelly's family members seem to indicate that her mental state also had begun to suffer.
Towards the end of her life, Charlotte once more found herself in financial difficulties and was committed to debtors' prison again in 1798. This time, Dennis O'Kelly's nephew, Andrew O'Kelly, bailed her out, but only on the condition that she sign over to him all her assets.[1]
She died in unknown circumstances in 1813.[citation needed]
Many years before her death, in 1779, a book supposedly written "By a Monk of the Order of Sr. Francis" was published in London under the following titleNocturnal Revels: or, the History of King's Place and other Modern Nunneries, containing Their Mysteries, Devotions, and Sacrifices, Comprising also, The Ancient and Present State of Promiscuous Gallantry.''It told the story, among other things, of Charlotte Hayes' profitable trade and provided a detailedItalic textmenu of the pleasures she offered to her wealthy clients.
Vladimir Nabokov in his famous novelLolita,gave a slight variation of her name, Charlotte Haze, to the nymphet's mother.
Studies
[edit]Hayes's story is told in detail inHallie Rubenhold'sThe Covent Garden Ladies(2005), as well as in Nicholas Clee'sEclipse: the Story of the Rogue, the Madam and the Horse That Changed Racing(2009). It is also discussed in Fergus Linnane's,London, the Wicked City,as well as in several books by E. J. Burford.
The TV series,Harlots,drew from Hayes' lifetime for its plot.[2]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^abcdefghWright 2018,p. 148.
- ^abcdSandhu, Serina Sandhu (27 March 2017)."Harlots: The real-life courtesan whose virginity sold for £9,000 in 18th century London".iNews.Retrieved7 August2018.
- ^abTrumbach 1998,p. 179.
- ^abcRubenhold 2012.
- ^Samuel Derrick author of Harris's List and his demise
- ^Williams 2007,p. 60.
- ^abLinnane 2003,p. 113.
- ^Death reported inThe World,31 December 1787. He was buried 7 January 1788, Middlesex Burials & Memorial Inscriptions
Additional sources
[edit]- Linnane, Fergus (2003),London: the wicked city: a thousand years of vice in the capital,Robson,ISBN9781861056191
- Rubenhold, Hallie (2012).The Covent Garden Ladies: The inspiration behind ITV show HARLOTS.Transworld.ISBN9781448153916.
- Trumbach, Randolph (1998).Sex and the Gender Revolution, Volume 1: Heterosexuality and the Third Gender in Enlightenment London.University of Chicago Press.ISBN9780226812908.
- Williams, Kate (2007).England's Mistress: The Infamous Life of Emma Hamilton.Penguin Random House.ISBN9780099451839.
- Wright, John D. (2018).Bloody HIstory of London: Crime, Corruption and Murder.Amber Books Ltd.ISBN9781782745709.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
- 1720s births
- 1813 deaths
- English brothel owners and madams
- Inmates of the Marshalsea
- Businesspeople from London
- People imprisoned for debt
- Inmates of Fleet Prison
- 18th-century English businesspeople
- 19th-century English businesspeople
- 18th-century English businesswomen
- 19th-century English businesswomen
- English female prostitutes
- Italian courtesans