INTERNET ARCHIVE.ORG MEMOIR OF SOPHIA BADDELEY - by ELIZABETH STEELE
Full title : The memoirs of Mrs. Sophia Baddeley, late of Drury Lane Theatre
Elizabeth Steel is the woman who in great friendship but also servitude, lived with Sophia Baddeley. She was her chaperone, gave her opinions about the various men who wanted to be patrons, lived with her, tried to keep her out of trouble.
I think a question we might have in 2024 is if the two women also had a sexual or romantic relationship. I have to let that question hang in the air. It was uncommon for any woman to live alone and most Courtesans had servants. The role of Mrs. Elizabeth Steele, who was about the same age as Sophia, was of friend, companion, chaperone, house-mate, advocate, and servant who, arguably, actually cared about Sophia and was steady in her life for many years.
Mrs. Elizabeth Steele wrote the memoirs of Sophia, and according to author Katie Hickman, set herself as a moral arbitrator of the story and as the most self-sacrificing person in the Courtesan's life.
Page 68: ... "I had given her my little fortune, which I had for years worked for, and did not repine; that I had also forsaken my husband, neglected my family, and given her myself, and would not give up my life, if necessary, to serve her.'
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