Fanny Murray was the 18th century courtesan who had London’s most powerful men worshiping at her feet. The mere mention of her name was enough to bring the rich and powerful to ruin.
1. She Was The Top Trollop
Fanny Murray, born Fanny Rudman, was 18th century London’s top courtesan. An innocent young girl thrust into the seedy demi-monde against her will, she would go on to become the focal point of several sordid career-ending scandals. Even after she traded in her tawdry life for a married one, she could not outrun her seedy past.
Henry Robert Morland, Wikimedia Commons
2. Her Family Was Respectable
The details of Fanny Murray’s early childhood are largely lost to history. However, we do know that she was born in 1729 in Bath, England and that her father was a respectable musician called “Rudman”. Her mother, sadly, is virtually unknown but appears to have passed away long before she could teach Murray the ways of womanhood.
Her father’s friends didn’t exactly set a good example.
Thomas Ross, Wikimedia Commons
3. She Became An Orphan
Murray’s father was friends with the famous “dandy”, Beau Nash, whose flamboyant lifestyle also made him a notorious womanizer and philanderer. However, their close friendship also indicates that Murray grew up in a somewhat respectable middle class family. That is, until tragedy struck.
Her father passed on, leaving her orphaned at the age of 12. After that, she would have to take drastic measures to survive.
MichaelMaggs, Wikimedia Commons
4. She Sold Flowers To Survive
As a lowly orphan, Murray fell into poverty. Her prospects certainly didn’t look good but she had an enterprising spirit. She managed to eke out just enough to survive by selling flowers in the Abbey and outside the Assembly Rooms in Bath. It provided her with an excellent opportunity to people-watch. What she observed shocked her.
Unknown author, Wikimedia Commons
5. Her Youthful Beauty Attracted Attention
While selling her flowers, Fanny Murray noticed that wealthy men seemed to have beautiful women on their arms who weren’t their wives. She was, herself, quite fetching for a young girl and wondered how she might become one of these kept ladies. Unfortunately for her, while she was busy watching the ladies, someone else was watching her.
6. She Lost Her “Blossom”
Murray sold beautiful flowers but, one fateful day, she encountered a customer who was interested in a bloom of a very different kind. The young orphan girl met John Spencer, the grandson of the legendary general, John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough. Spencer, an even more notorious rake than Nash, seduced Murray and took the bloom off her flower.
Sadly, that was just the beginning of her hardship.
George Knapton, Wikimedia Commons
7. She Fell In With A Bad Crowd
Spencer had stolen Murray’s innocence and besmirched the young girl. The consequences were brutal. After he discarded her, she fell into an even worse crowd. Her next “customer” was a captain in the army and, allegedly, a few reprobates and seedy characters followed after that. Her life might have ended in the gutter if a certain gentleman hadn’t intervened.
He was the person she would have least expected.
8. She Had Unlikely Savior
Of all the people to come to Murray’s rescue, she could never have predicted it would have been Beau Nash. Her deceased father’s friend saw the poor girl out on her luck but spotted the potential that she had for making powerful men go weak in her presence. Well into his 60s, he invited Murray to live with him as his “help-mate”.
Her world was about to change dramatically.
National Portrait Gallery London, Picryl
9. She Learned The Tricks Of The Trade
It’s likely that Nash took advantage of Murray’s misfortune to satisfy his insatiable appetite for pleasure. However, unlike the other men in her past, Nash paid her for her services. He introduced Murray to the finer things in life and taught her a great deal about high-society men and how to manipulate them. Her new skills were about to rock the nation’s capital.
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10. She Struck Out On Her Own
After a few years serving as Nash’s mistress, Murray was ready to strike out on her own. Even though she was just 14 years old, she left Bath and moved to London, where all of the real big spenders lived. However, she knew that if she wanted to make money, she would have to spend money. Unfortunately, she didn’t have any of that.
Her poverty made her take drastic measures.
11. She Had A Bath Benefactor
Without two pennies to rub together, Murray became a “dress-lodger”—ie, an indentured courtesan who works to pay off the dresses, makeup, and jewelry needed for her trade. It seems likely that Nash, who still lived in Bath, was her benefactor. However, if she was going to conquer the big city, she would need someone local to help her.
She should have been careful what she wished for.
12. She Teamed Up With The Procurer
Just like it had with John Spencer back in Bath, Murray’s beauty attracted the attention of another influential older man. This time, however, it was Jack Harris, one of London’s premiere procurers, who noticed the young girl from the countryside with her innocent-looking eyes. However, before he took her on as a client, he had to be certain of one thing.
13. She Was (Surprisingly) Clean
As the leading “procurer” of women in London, Harris had a reputation to protect—which meant he had to go to disturbing lengths before he “hired” Murray. Before he agreed to work with her, he had her checked for disease. Thankfully, her earlier encounters hadn’t left her with any illnesses (not physical, at least) and Harris included her in his booklet, Harris's List of Covent Garden Ladies.
It was just the kind of advertising she needed.
Richard Bennet, Wikimedia Commons
14. She Was A “New Face”
With Harris’ help, it would only be a matter of time before Fanny Murray had a lucrative client list of seemingly respectable, powerful men. There were just a few details that they had to fudge first. Despite the fact that Murray had been a “working girl” for years, Harris’ booklet described her as a “new face”. That wasn’t the only lie she and Harris told.
15. She Lied About Her Age
Respectable courtesans, as Murray aimed to be, had to be of age in order to protect the honor of their clients. However, when Murray teamed up with Harris, she was still under the age of 17. Either knowingly or unknowingly, however, Harris, in his booklet, misrepresented Murray as “rising nineteen next season”. Murray’s little deception paid off—bigly.
16. She Became The Most-Desired Courtesan
With Harris’ help (and her own fudging of facts), Fanny Murray took to the Covent Gardens scene like a storm. Her unique “skills” and peculiarly fresh beauty quickly made her one of the most sought-after courtesans in all of London, catapulting her to the very top of the demi-monde. She had no idea the kind of mania she was about to set off.
17. She Was Insanely Famous
Even though Fanny Murray performed her “talents” behind closed doors, she developed a very public reputation. In fact, she became so famous—think 18th century Kardashian famous—that she was on the tips of everyone’s lips (sometimes literally). One famous diarist from the time wrote, “it was a vice not to be acquainted with Fanny; it was [an offense] not to toast her at every meal”.
She even had famous fans.
18. She Even Seduced Casanova
The hype around Murray and obsession with her beauty can’t be overstated. In fact, she even had other famous beauties fawning over her. When Murray was the guest of honor at the British Ambassador to Venice’s casino, she attracted the attention of the famed Lothario, Giacomo Casanova. But, if he wanted a piece of Fanny’s fanny, he would have to line-up.
Like everyone else.
Alessandro Longhi, Wikimedia Commons
19. She Was The First “Pin-Up”
By 1749, Murray-mania was in full swing. Before long, men all over England who couldn’t afford a moment in her presence, far less a whole night, began buying mezzotint prints of her likeness. They then pinned up these prints in their homes, making her the first ever “pin-up” model. There was even more obsessive behavior than that.
20. She Was In Everyone’s Pocket
Men who couldn’t afford Murray’s services (which was every man except the uber-wealthy) still made sure to get their “time” with her. In addition to the pin-ups on their walls, men in England began to keep cutouts of Murray’s face between the outer and inner layers of their pocket watches. It was all getting to be too much for Murray to handle on her own.
21. She Had A Mini Me
Fanny Murray was more famous than she could have imagined and her client list was filling up faster than she could handle. But, with the money rolling in, she didn’t want to refuse any business—so she came up with a strange practice.
Rumor has it that Murray hired a body double to keep up with the growing demand for her services. She may have shared her secrets with more than just one other woman, however.
Multimedia Film Production, Fanny Hill (2010)
22. She Was An Erogenous Educator
Even if Fanny Murray managed to find a whole barracks worth of women who looked just like her, what men really wanted was her…”je ne sais quoi” in the boudoir. Once again, she proved her entrepreneurial spirit when she published a pamphlet called The Careless Maid, that gave her advice on how to become a “complete French lady”.
But there was an even more scandalous publication bearing her name.
23. She Inspired A Scandalous Novel
Fanny Murray practically became synonymous with the life and adventures of courtesans. As such, she was the likely inspiration for John Cleland’s novel, Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure, or Fanny Hill. The scandalous novel told the story of a lowly orphan who rose to prominence as a courtesan, oddly mirroring Murray’s story…complete with pictures.
She inspired one of the harshest book bans of all time..
Unknown Author, Wikimedia Commons
24. She “Corrupted The King’s Subjects”
Even though Murray’s client list included many prominent men in government, they weren’t exactly thrilled to see their escapades fictionalized in Fanny Hill. Mortified at having their dirty deeds publicized like that, they went to extreme lengths to cover their dirty little secrets.
The government banned the book and charged Cleland with “corrupting the King's subjects”. The scandal only made Murray-mania even worse.
Multimedia Film Production, Fanny Hill (2010)
25. She Was A Fashion Icon
The Fanny Hill crisis drove Murray-mania into hyperdrive. To her gentlemen clients, she was now a dangerous forbidden fruit. And to the women of London, she was a symbol of rebellion and independence that they wanted to emulate. As such, Murray became a singularly unique fashion icon with women wanting to wear everything she did.
Or didn’t.
Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Wikimedia Commons
26. She Had A Hat Named After Her
There was no question that Fanny Murray was beautiful—but not perfect. As one of her contemporaries put it, her face was “handsome though somewhat awry”. As such, Murray always wore a custom, broad-brimmed hat called a “Fanny Murray cap” to hide her gentle imperfections. But the other fashion trends she started didn’t try to hide anything.
Multimedia Film Production, Fanny Hill (2010)
27. She Had Copycats
One essayist from the time complained about Murray’s impact on the London fashion scene. He wrote, “If Fanny Murray [chooses] to vary the fashion of her apparel, immediately every Lucretia in town takes notice of the change, and modestly copies the chaste original”. People even followed Murray’s wildly indecent fashions.
Multimedia Film Production, Fanny Hill (2010)
28. She Showed Off Her Assets
The same essayist continued his diatribe against Murray’s takeover of the fashion scene. He made fun of the women following her trends, writing, “If Fanny shews the coral centre of her snowy orbs [gentle speak for “nipples”]—miss, to outstrip her, orders the stays to be cut an inch or two lower; and kindly displays the whole lovely circumference”.
But Fanny Murray never gave anything away for free.
Multimedia Film Production, Fanny Hill (2010)
29. She Had A Sandwich
At the height of her fame and fortune, Fanny Murray decided that it was finally time to cash in. She became the longtime mistress of John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich. Montagu was so obsessed with Murray that he kept a portrait of her unclothed body in his house which he proudly displayed to all of his guests. But he didn’t keep her all to himself.
Joseph Highmore, Wikimedia Commons
30. She Was A “Nun”
Montagu introduced Murray to the Hellfire Club; a highly secretive and exclusive club of powerful philanderers who needed a safe place to practice their debauchery. Montagu proudly brought Murray around to the club’s “events” where she participated as a “nun”. Of course, she was not the kind of “nun” that you’re likely thinking of.
Thomas Gainsborough, Wikimedia Commons
31. She Took Part In Satanic Rituals
The Hellfire Club’s activities included “satanic trappings” such as seances and “obscene parodies of religious rites”. The debauched events can barely be put into words but, suffice to say, they included all manner of Dionysinian bacchanal that made even Murray blush. The unprintable events of the Hellfire Club that she witnessed would eventually come back to haunt her.
William Hogarth, Wikimedia Commons
32. She Became An Honest Woman
After what she witnessed in the Hellfire Club, Fanny Murray was ready to settle down and step back from the demi-monde. In fact, she wanted to become a respectable woman—or something approximating one. So, she married the minor noble, Sir Richard Atkins, 6th Baronet, believing that he could support her financially. She was mistaken.
33. Her Husband Slept With The Competition
For Fanny Murray, old habits proved hard to break. Neither she nor Atkins remained faithful to each other during their marriage. In fact, their marriage was downright volatile, as Atkins continued spending lavishly on other courtesans, including some of Murray’s biggest competitors, Kitty Fisher and Sophia Baddeley. Then Atkins insulted Murray in a way she couldn’t forgive.
Joshua Reynolds, Wikimedia Commons
34. She Had To Beg For Money
Fanny Murray had grown accustomed to making her own money as the demi-monde’s most sought-after courtesan. But, as a married woman, she had to rely on Atkins for money. Unfortunately, he was spending all of his cash on Murray’s old competitors so, when she complained to him that she didn’t have enough spending money, he tossed a £20 note her way.
What she did with it was shocking.
35. She Ate A Money Sandwich
Even on a discount night, Murray could have commanded much more than a paltry £20. So, when Atkins tried to dismiss her with the pathetic sum, she couldn’t help but feel insulted. Angrily, she fired back at him, “[Darn] your £20, what does it signify?” She then placed the bill between two loaves of bread and proceeded to eat it.
Given what happened next, however, she should have stashed that money away in a piggy bank.
36. Her Husband Left Her In Debt
After a few years of an unhappy marriage, things between Murray and Atkins came to an abrupt end when Atkins passed away unexpectedly. Even though there was definitely no love lost on Murray’s side, she did lose one thing: financial security. Atkins had squandered away all of his family’s wealth, leaving Murray with a mountain of his debt.
She would need all of her entrepreneurial wiles to get out of this one.
37. She “Sponged-Up” Gossip
At 27, Fanny Murray was past her prime and she couldn’t rely on her beauty for income like she had before. Unable to pay off the debts that Atkins had left her with, she was carted off to a “sponging-house”, a type of lockup for people with big debts. But the only thing she was “sponging-up” in that house was juicy, profitable gossip.
38. She Learned Something Very Interesting
Murray had gotten herself out of poverty before with nothing but her resourcefulness. This time would be no different. After just a few weeks or months in the sponging-house, she learned that John Spencer, 1st Earl Spencer was getting married. He just so happened to be the son of the elder John Spencer, the man who had defiled her when she was just 12.
She saw an ingenious way to turn that information into cold, hard cash.
Thomas Gainsborough, Wikimedia Commons
39. She Blackmailed Her Attacker’s Son
As she mulled over the compelling news in her tiny cell, Murray was hoping that the younger Spencer was an honorable man. After some consideration, she wrote a “begging letter” to Spencer and his wife-to-be, describing what the elder Spencer had done to her in her youth. Essentially, she blamed Spencer’s father for setting her life on the trajectory it was on.
Her gamble paid off.
Brent Walker Film Productions, Fanny Hill (1983)
40. She Secured A Salary
Fortunately, the younger Spencer was a better man than the elder Spencer had been. Just as Murray had hoped, the younger Spencer read her letter and took pity on her. Wanting to set his father’s past misdeeds right, Spencer agreed to pay Murray an annual stipend of £200. It wasn’t quite the fortune she had wanted but it was a good start.
Her real payment was yet to come.
Brent Walker Film Productions, Fanny Hill (1983)
41. She Got More Than She Bargained For
Spencer knew what Murray needed more than money; she needed a good man. He introduced the retired courtesan to the prominent actor and theater owner, David Ross, one of his close personal friends. The details are scarce but it looks like Spencer twisted Ross’ arm into marrying Murray, using the £200 as something of a dowry. Turns out, he was quite the matchmaker.
Thomas Hosmer Shepherd, Wikimedia Commons
42. She Finally Found Love
With an engagement to David Ross, Fanny Murray got something that she had never truly had before—at least, not since her father had passed away. She was, once again, a member of respectable society. And, by all accounts, Murray and Ross actually enjoyed a happy marriage. However, even with this new start, she could not outrun her past.
Brent Walker Film Productions, Fanny Hill (1983)
43. Her Past Came Back To Haunt Her
In 1763, an old poem by the journalist and radical politician, John Wilkes, surfaced and threatened to ruin Murray’s rehabilitated reputation. The poem, An Essay on Woman, was a lewd and rather explicit parody of Alexander Pope's An Essay on Man. It was also all about Fanny Murray. The contents of the poem shocked even her.
After Richard Houston, Wikimedia Commons
44. She Was Better Than The Virgin Mary
The first line of the poem—which Wilkes had likely written at the height of Murray’s fame with Thomas Potter—was “Awake, my Fanny”. The line was too lewd for the highly religious society of the time but it only got more sordid from there. The poem ended with Wilkes comparing Murray to the Virgin Mary, concluding that the courtesan was the more virtuous because she was childless.
The scandal was about to spill over into full-blown controversy.
After William Hogarth, Wikimedia Commons
45. She May Have Witnessed A Real Seance
Murray’s old admirer and lover, Montagu, seized on the opportunity to use the poem to his advantage. He wanted to seek revenge on Wilkes for an event at the Hellfire Club that Murray had likely witnessed. During a seance, Wilkes had managed to frighten Montagu with a cleverly timed prank, embarrassing Montagu in front of his friends and mistress.
Murray’s sordid past was about to become a matter of public record.
British Museum, Wikimedia Commons
46. She Hoped To Avoid Further Scandal
Despite the fact that Montagu had once been Murray’s number one client, he wanted revenge more than he wanted moral consistency. To Murray and Wilkes’ horror, Montagu read portions of the scandalous and lewd poem out to the House of Lords. who denounced it as “blasphemous and obscene”. They then expelled Wilkes for having written it.
Murray could only hope to escape blowback herself.
The Gentleman's Magazine, Wikimedia Commons
47. Her Old Lover Was “Twitchy”
Even though she was the subject of the poem, Fanny Murray managed to escape the scandal largely unscathed. Montagu, however, did not and was hoisted by his own petard. One of the characters in the newly released The Beggar’s Opera,
Jemmy Twitcher, pulled off a similarly hypocritical betrayal. The public began calling Montagu “Twitcher” for his deceitful act.
But Murray had personal problems.
Brent Walker Film Productions, Fanny Hill (1983)
48. Her Marriage Took A Hit
Thankfully, most critics spared Murray from the controversy, calling her contribution “little more than a matter of literary convention”. However, she didn’t escape personal consequences. Murray’s marriage suffered from having her past dredged in such a public way. But it’s not like her husband, Ross, was immune from scandals of his own.
Brent Walker Film Productions, Fanny Hill (1983)
49. She Defended Her Husband’s Honor
After her own “problematic poem” incident, Murray’s husband, Ross, became the subject of his own poetic scandal. An anonymous author penned a poem, “besmirching” Ross’ acting talent and bringing dishonor to their household. Murray offered £21 to anyone who could identify the author. It’s unclear if she ever succeeded but she did get her happily ever after.
Brent Walker Film Productions, Fanny Hill (1983)
50. She Was An Exemplary Wife
According to the historical records, Murray and Ross don’t appear to have had any children. However, that doesn’t mean that they didn’t enjoy a largely successful marriage. One of Ross’ biographies was full of praise for Murray, saying, “whatever her former indiscretions had been, [Murray] conducted herself as a wife with exemplary prudence and discretion”.
What a surprising ending to the scandalous story of Fanny Murray.
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