Elizabeth Ann Linley

Elizabeth Ann Sheridan (née Linley) (September 1754 – 28 June 1792) was the first daughter (and second of twelve children) of the composer Thomas Linley and his wife Mary Johnson, and was herself the wife of the leading playwright Richard Brinsley Sheridan. She was one of the most noted soprano singers of her day, though her husband discouraged her from performing in public after their marriage.

Elizabeth Ann Sheridan (née Linley) was born in the autumn of 1754 but the exact date varies with sources giving 4, 5 or 7 September, at either Abbey Green or 5 Pierrepont Street, Bath. Her father was Thomas Linley, an English musician and composer, and her mother was Mary Johnson (1729–1820) who was also a talented musician. Elizabeth was the couple's eldest daughter (there was an older brother but he died in early childhood), and like several of her siblings inherited her parents' musical abilities. It is likely she began singing at concerts when she was only nine years old and she made her formal stage début alongside her brother, also named Thomas, in 1767 at Covent Garden, London. The concert, or masque, featured music by Bach and was called The Fairy Favour. Elizabeth sang and her brother played the part of Puck.

At the end of 1770, she was betrothed to an elderly but wealthy suitor, Walter Long, but the engagement was broken off shortly before the wedding took place. Long paid her compensation of £3,000 in 1771 and she also received £1,000 worth of clothing and jewellery. On 26 June 1771, a new comedy, called The Maid of Bath, opened at the Haymarket Theatre, dramatising her story. Written by Samuel Foote, it played for 24 nights in London and was very popular but made Elizabeth a figure of ridicule.

She moved to France in 1772 accompanied by Richard Brinsley Sheridan and an invalid marriage may have taken place in March 1772 but there are no official records to verify it. The abscondment may have been an attempt to avoid the unwanted attention of 'Captain' Thomas Mathews, a married man. The Linley family made the acquaintance of Mathews when he moved to Bath in 1770; a descendant of Thomas Mathews, he had resigned his military career when he married. He amorously pursued Elizabeth despite his marital status. Elizabeth's father may have delayed seeking her return until after Mathews had left Bath. Mathews placed an advertisement in the Bath Chronicle, published on 9 April 1772, decrying Sheridan, then left the town a few days later.

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