Person Bowdler; Miss; Henrietta Maria (1750-1830); author and expurgator DS/UK/4601 Bowdler Henrietta Maria Miss Harriet 1750-1830 author and expurgator Female Bath Henrietta (Harriet) Bowdler was born in 1750, the daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Bowdler, and sister to John, Thomas and Jane Bowdler. She anonymously published 'Sermons on the Doctrines and Duties of Christianity' in 1803. In 1807 she published 'The Family Shakespeare', also anonymously, an expurgated version of Shakespeare's plays from which everything had been removed 'that could give just offence to the religious or virtuous mind'. By 1809 it was rumoured that the book had been published by her brother Thomas Bowdler; he did not deny the rumours and subsequently edited the later editions, retitled 'The Family Shakspear'. By the 1820s, 'The Family Shakspeare' had become very popular, and remained in print into the 20th century. Its popularity led to the verb 'to bowdlerize' entering the language to refer to removing improper or offensive material from a text. Harriet Bowdler died in Bath in 1830. Complete Yes DERBYSHIRE\71010800 03/03/2025 DERBYSHIRE\71010800 03/03/2025 56d8681b-2143-43be-a20c-789282e14b9a