Elizabeth Anne Le Noir

Elizabeth Anne Le Noir
Born	Elizabeth Anne Smart c. 1755 Islington, London
Died	6 May 1841 (aged 85–86) Priory, Caversham, England
Occupation	novelist and poet
Nationality	English
Spouse	John Baptiste Le Noir

Elizabeth Anne Le Noir (nee Smart; c. 1755 – 6 May 1841) was an English female poet, novelist, and feminist from the romantic period. Raised in a widowed home, Le Noir became interested in literature through opportunities she was given by her mother's step-father; John Newbery. After being employed at the Reading Mercury for some time, Le Noir and her sister eventually inherited it. Le Noir soon became the wife of Jean Baptiste Le Noir, from whom she got her last name. Although she didn't have any children of her own, she educated two of her female relatives. Although Le Noir had many great works, "[s]he is probably better known as the daughter of the famous religious poet Christopher Smart."

In 1755, Elizabeth Anne Le Smart was born in Islington, London as the daughter of English poet Christopher Smart and Anna Maria Carnan. Elizabeth was born into a household with her parents and sister Mary Anne Smart. Due to her father's failing career, Smart was unable to provide enough of an income to support the family. During the 1760s, Christopher Smart began to be labeled as an insane alcoholic and became incapable of caring for his wife and children. He was soon admitted into St Luke's Hospital for Lunatics as a "Curable Patient". In 1768 Smart was eventually confined permanently for insanity and later died at St. Luke's Hospital for Lunatics in 1771. During the time where Elizabeth Anne's father was imprisoned, her mother, sister and herself settled in Reading, Berkshire in 1972 with her mother's step-father John Newbery who cared for them. John Newbery was an English publisher who once supported the works of Elizabeth's father, Christopher Smart.

In 1795, Elizabeth Anne married a French immigrant, John Baptiste Le Noir. The couple settled together in Reading, Berkshire, where John Bapiste worked as a French teacher while Elizabeth Anne took care of the house and educated two family members. Throughout her childhood, Le Noir's mother did not want her to pursue writing.

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