Jordan, Dorothy

1761

1816

Dorothy Jordan was baptised at St Martin-in-the-Fields on 22 November 1761, the daughter of Francis and Grace Bland. Her father was reputed to be a captain. Her mother (née Phillips) was one of nine children of a Welsh clergyman. At least two of her sisters became actresses. Dorothy made her debut at the Crow Street Theatre, Dublin, as Lucy in “The Virgin Unmask’d” on 3 November 1779. After acting several more roles there and at the Smock Alley Theatre in July 1782, she joined Tate Wilkinson’s company on the York circuit. She was originally advertised in the bills as Miss Bland, but Wilkinson dubbed her Mrs Jordan, saying now that she was a full-fledged actress she had ‘crossed over.’ As Mrs Jordan she remained with Wilkinson in the north for three years, until she made her first London appearance, at Drury Lane, on 18 October 1785 as Peggy in “The Country Girl”, a character that became one of her signature roles, and in which she was painted by De Wilde (G0342) and by Romney (now at Waddesdon Manor). When she acted Viola in “Twelfth Night” on 16 November the critic in the “Public Advertiser” wrote, ‘The great powers of Mrs Jordan cannot be better displayed than in the wonderful contrast of her Country Girl and Viola. In one all archness and vivacity; in the other serious, gentle, tender and sentimental.’ Soon she appeared as Priscilla Tomboy in “The Romp”, another distinctive role in her repertoire. Over the next twenty years at Drury Lane Mrs Jordan added dozens of roles, including Juliet, Lady Teazle and Mrs Hardcastle. It was in breeches parts that she excelled and became a celebrated performer. As a ‘star’ she attracted a number of suitors and lovers, including the Dublin manager and profligate Richard Daly, the young baronet Richard Ford (by whom she had three children) and finally the Duke of Clarence, with whom she lived to the end of her life in an extravagant fashion and by whom she had ten children. She also continued her stage career during her years with Clarence. The relationship with Clarence in the beginning spawned numerous ribald and vulgar commentaries and caricatures. Many viewed her as a royal concubine living off the public purse, while others sympathized with her because she seemed to be kept working on the stage to support the prince’s life style. Mrs Jordan – she never received a title – died on 5 July 1816 in Paris and was buried in the cemetery at St Cloud. She had been an actress with excellent comic talents and also had been affecting in serious roles. Hazlitt called her ‘the child of nature,’ whose voice was ‘a cordial to the heart.’ Charles Lamb and Leigh Hunt also lavished praise upon her. The BDA lists some 85 portraits of her. Among those are Hoppner’s portrait of her as Viola, at Kenwood, and his portrait of her as the Comic Muse, now at Buckingham Palace. (BDA)