Mary Ann Canning, Biography, Actresses 

Mary Ann Hunn is known to history as the disreputable actress mother of the politician George Canning, a footnote to his story. Many books have been written about George, perennially controversial, which either ignore his mother, or dismiss her with a few patronising words. But here, using her own 65,000-word memoir, and the remarkable 47-year correspondence between mother and son, supplemented by the scattered testimony of contemporaries, this new work uncovers the hidden history of a strong, passionate and intelligent woman. It's a story of hardship, humiliation and resilience; of a mother and son forced to follow widely different paths over half a century, never entirely reconciled, and yet never losing their natural affection for each other. Mary Ann's marriage to a penniless poet, her 15 years in the theatre, her 11 pregnancies - all play into the texture of their long and intense relationship. 

(CON) Biography of Mary Ann Canning (née Costello, later Hunn) through her relationship with her son, politician George Canning. Drawn from Canning's 65,000 word manuscript memoir (1803) and the Canning Papers, once held at Harewood House, now transferred to the British Library. With a list of subscribers who supported the publication at the outset and family tree. Appendix and end notes. (PRV) Donated by Julian Crowe, 2022