Laetitia Pilkington was born Laetitia Van Lewen in Dublin in 1709, the daughter of John Van Lewen who became president of the College of Physicians. She married a Church of Ireland priest Matthew Pilkington and through him was introduced to Jonathan Swift. Swift was a good friend to them and encouraged both of them in their writing of poetry. He also secured a position for Matthew as chaplain to the Lord Mayor of London. Laetitia arrived in London after her husband had settled and found him caught up in a affair with a Drury Lane actress. She quickly became mixed up in literary circles including the noted wit and libertine James Worsdale and the satirist Henry Carey. When her husband was arrested in a political scandal they returned to Ireland. The following year it was Laetitia who was caught up in a scandal. Matthew found her alone in her bedroom with Robert Adair; a surgeon and the Pilkington's divorce was acrimonious and costly, reducing Laetitia to poverty. She lost all standing in Dublin Society and fled to London in disgrace.
Laetitia began to make her living by her pen; writing verse, drama and short pieces for the press. However she continually struggled to make ends meet. She often wrote under the name Mrs Meade (Meade was her mother's maiden name) and collaborated with a number of well known writers including Colley Cibber, Samuel Richardson and James Worsdale. In the 1740s Laetitia began to seek subscribers for a book of Memoirs. However no publisher in London would agree to publish her work, despite huge interest, because so many of the literary lights were afraid of her caustic wit and having all their flaws publicly exposed. Undeterred, Laetitia returned to Dublin, where she found a publisher. The first two volumes of her autobiography appeared in 1748 and they were an instant hit. However while they increased the author's fame, they did not lead to fortune. Laetitia died in 1750 and was buried in Dublin.
You can find out more about this fascinating woman by listening to this intriguing play
and check out this brilliant biography
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