Maria Barrell claimed to have been born in the West Indies but appears to have spent her early life in England. She moved to Grenada in 1763 and ten years later married Theodore Barrell. Together they had a son, William, and a daughter, whose name is unknown. In 1777, Maria and Theodore were in America and were accused of having loyalist sympathies during the
American Revolutionary War. They were forced to separate when Maria was allowed to leave Boston to see her daughter in England, but was not allowed to return. In 1782, Barrell was living in London. Barrell was imprisoned for debt in the 1780s. She submitted compensation claims in 1784 and 1790 for losses due to the American War, but these were unsuccessful. In an introduction preceding the poem she describes herself as an "unfortunate loyalist" facing "perpetual imprisonment". The poem praises British liberty but appeals to the right of debtors and explores the futility of imprisoning them. The play explores how bankruptcy is treated as the worst of crimes, despite it arising from bad luck. The play was never performed, but it demonstrates how play-writing was a potential method of income for women in desperate need of money, or as a way to attract a patron. Barrell married James Makitterick Adair in 1791, but the marriage was short-lived and Adair remarried the following year. In 1801, Barrell was convicted of passing counterfeit coin in
Fleet Street and was sentenced to one year in prison. She was convicted of counterfeit again in 1803 and faced the
death penalty, but received a royal pardon. Her punishment was reduced to
transportation to
New South Wales. Barrell died in
Newgate Prison before she could leave. == Works ==