born Sept. 11, 1762, Hamilton, Lanark, Scot.

died Feb. 23, 1851, Hampstead, London

poet and prolific dramatist whose plays, mainly in verse, were highly praised at a period when serious drama was in decline. Her Plays on the Passions, 3 vol. (1798–1812), brought her fame but have long been forgotten. She is remembered, rather, as the friend of her countryman Sir Walter Scott and for a handful of lyrics in Fugitive Verses (1790), her first published work, that catch the authentic note of Lowland Scots folk song.