MA, whose work spans the Romantic and Victorian periods, was a poet who wrote wittily on religious and secular topics, and was an early champion of the governess. With Felicia Hemans, she was the one of the two most prolific British contributors to annuals in the USA. 105
Biography
- Maria SmithAbdyM. A.Mira 1
Birth
Maria Smith (later MA) was born in London; she was an only child.
2: 178Early Years
As a member of the English professional classes and an adherent of the established Anglican church, she was presumably white and relatively privileged, but little is known of her life. Her mother's family were Dissenters.
MA's mother, Maria Smith, bore this name both before and after her marriage.
Richard Smith, her father, was a solicitor.
MA's maternal uncles, James and Horace Smith, who were influential in her early life, wrote Rejected Addresses, 1812.
She grew up in the area of Russell Square.2: 178
Interested in science, she was frustrated by how few of its mysteries she could comprehend. 1
Marriage
Maria Smith married John Channing Abdy, the rector of a Southwark church (variously given as St John's or St George the Martyr's).
1 2: 178MA's husband died in 1845.
Their only child, Albert Channing, was born by 3 July 1829. He grew up to become a clergyman.2: 178
Death
MA died at 7 Upper Marine Terrace in Margate.
2: 178The cause was pronounced decay of nature 2: 178 by the doctor present at her death. She was buried in St Peter's Churchyard, on the Isle of Thanet in Kent.
Writing
MA was writing rhymes at the age of nine, demonstrating a talent for literature at an early age. 2: 178
Periodicals and Annuals
MA's husband, the Reverend John Channing, encouraged her to submit poems to the New Monthly Magazine. These appeared under her initials. 2: 178 She also contributed to the Metropolitan (edited by Thomas Campbell), and her work appeared in a number of annuals: The Keepsake (1835 and onwards), the Literary Souvenir, the Forget-Me-Not, The Juvenile Forget-Me-Not, Ackermann's Juvenile Forget-Me-Not. the Book of Beauty, Friendship's Offering, and A New Year's Gift. 2: 178 2 3-6
My Very Particular Friend appeared in the Comic Offering of 1834.
This popular poem is one of MA's humorous pieces, which according to critic Paula R. Feldman were her most imaginative and successful2 compositions. Although some of her devotional verse has been viewed as monotonous, her comic pieces were witty and perceptive, and were possibly influenced by the writing style of her uncles, James and Horace Smith.2
Poetry
MA, as Mrs. Abdy, printed for private circulation the first volume in her eight-volume series Poetry.
Between 1838 and 1862 seven more volumes were privately printed, under the same title. The British Library has two editions which include personal notes to friends.
In the late nineteenth century MA's poems were praised for their religious spirit and grace of style. More recently the Feminist Companion found them witty and sharply observant with an intriguing strain of distinct but very gentle feminism.
In The Poetess she writes,
Methought the votive crowd's assiduous dutyMethought the votive crowd's assiduous duty
Surpassed the homage paid alone to Beauty:Surpassed the homage paid alone to Beauty:
I learned the cause—her high and gifted laysI learned the cause—her high and gifted lays
Had won the public ear, the public praise.2: 180Had won the public ear, the public praise.2: 180
A later poem, The Dream of the Poetess, addresses similar themes.1: 224 A Match of Affection and The Chaperon's Complaint take up the marriage market issue in an ironic tone. A Governess Wanted is a satirical poem in which a sister describes to her brother the heroic qualifications
expected for the job:
She must point out each author's chief beauties,She must point out each author's chief beauties,
She must manage dull natures with skill,She must manage dull natures with skill,
Her pleasures must lie in her duties,Her pleasures must lie in her duties,
She must never be nervous or ill!2: 21-3She must never be nervous or ill!2: 21-3
A Prize
MA produced a prize-winning poem, An Appeal on Behalf of Governesses.
The prize was given for the best poem on the plight of governesses. Although apparently her longest poem, her entry does not appear in any of the eight
volumes of her series Poetry. Other poems in the series attest to MA's desire to further the cause of the oppressed. The Writer of the People (1858) pronounces:
A glorious privilege to thee belongs;A glorious privilege to thee belongs;
Tis thine, with wise and vigilant inspectionTis thine, with wise and vigilant inspection
To guard the People's rights, to scan their wrongs,To guard the People's rights, to scan their wrongs,
And urge their claims to justice and protection.7: 95And urge their claims to justice and protection.7: 95
Re-evaluation
MA's books and papers were inherited by her son, Albert Channing.2: 178-9
After a century of neglect, several of her pieces have recently been included in late-twentieth-century anthologies of Romantic poets.