{{Short description|English singer (1763–1784)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} [[Image:MariaLinley.jpg|thumb|200px|Maria Linley by Thomas Lawrence.]] '''Maria Linley''' (10 October 1763 – 5 September 1784) was an English singer.

==Life== Maria Linley was born on 10 October 1763{{sfnp|Black|1911|p=11|ps=none}} and christened two months later on 10 December, at Bath.{{sfnp|Kalinsky|1988|p=88|ps=none}} She was trained as a singer by her father Thomas Linley the elder{{sfnp|Kalinsky|1988|p=88|ps=none}} (one of seven musical siblings born to him and his wife Mary Johnson). She performed in the Drury Lane oratorios and in concerts, possessing a voice similar to that of other family members.{{sfnp|Chedzoy|1998|p=229|ps=none}} As she matured her behaviour changed, she became awkward and "eccentric", leading to arguments with her father, and she left home to stay with her older sister, Mary.{{sfnp|Chedzoy|1998|p=229|ps=none}} Unhappy at having to sleep in a small attic room, she left her sister's house and moved in with a female friend with whom she shared a bed.{{sfnp|Chedzoy|1998|pp=229–230|ps=none}}

When she was twenty years old, in 1784, she went to live in the home of her grandparents in Bath but became very ill soon after her arrival.{{sfnp|Chedzoy|1998|p=230|ps=none}} Maria died on 5 September 1784 from a "brain fever".{{sfnp|Kalinsky|1988|p=89|ps=none}} Her burial place is in Walcot, Bath.{{sfnp|Black|1911|p=166|ps=none}}

She was also sketched by the British artist Samuel Shelley as Saint Cecilia, patron saint of musicians.

==References== '''Citations''' {{reflist|30em}} '''Bibliography''' {{refbegin}} *{{citation |last=Black |first=Clementina |title=The Linleys of Bath |year=1911 |publisher=Martin Secker}} *{{citation |last=Chedzoy |first=Alan |title=Sheridan's Nightingale |year=1998 |publisher=Allison & Busby| isbn=0-7490-0341-3}} *{{citation |contributor-last=Kalinsky |contributor-first=Nicola |contribution=Maria Linley (1763–1784) |title=A Nest of Nightingales |last=Waterfield |first=Giles |year=1988 |publisher=Dulwich Picture Gallery}} {{refend}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Linley, Maria}} Category:1763 births Category:1784 deaths Category:English sopranos Maria Category:Musicians from Bath, Somerset

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