Editing Frances Wright (section)

==First visits to the United States and France==
[[File:Frances Wright 1835.jpg|thumb|1835 portrait of Wright]] 
Twenty-three-year-old Wright and her younger sister Camilla made their first trip to the United States in 1818. The sisters toured the country for two years before returning to England. While Wright was visiting [[New York City]], ''Altorf'',  her play about the struggle for Swiss independence from [[Austria]], was anonymously produced and performed beginning on February 19, 1819. However, it closed after three performances.<ref>Lee, p. 519.</ref><ref name=James676>James, James, Boyer, eds., p. 676.</ref> For its Philadelphia premiere on January 5, 1820, an advertisement noted that it was "performed in New York last season with distinguished success."<ref>"Theatre," ''Franklin Gazette'', January 4, 1820, p. 3</ref>

Soon after her return to England in 1820, Wright published ''Views of Society and Manners in America'' (1821).<ref name=C-P236/><ref name=James676/> The book's publication was a major turning point in her life. It brought her an invitation from [[Jeremy Bentham]] to join his circle of acquaintances, which included economist [[James Mill]], politician [[Francis Plore]], and author [[George Grote]], among others. The group's opposition to religious clergy influenced Wright's own emerging philosophy.<ref name=Sanders3/><ref name=Okker>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ndYFBRgpRecC&q=Frances+Wright+co-founder+of+the+Free+Inquirer+newspaper&pg=PA219 |title=Our Sister Editors: Sarah J. Hale and the Tradition of Nineteenth-century American Women Editors|last=Okker |first=Patricia |date=June 6, 2008|publisher=University of Georgia Press |pages=219–20|isbn=9780820332499|language=en}}</ref><ref name=Elliott143-44>Elliott, pp. 143–44.</ref>

In 1821, Wright traveled to France at the invitation of the [[Marquis de Lafayette]] and met with him in Paris. Despite the differences in their ages, the two became friends. At one point, Wright encouraged him to adopt her and her sister. Wright's request strained the relationship with General Lafayette's family, and no adoption occurred. Wright's friendship with the general continued after relations with his family were repaired. She also returned to Lafayette's home in France for a six-month visit in 1827 to work on a biography of him.<ref name=Bowman/><ref name=Elliott143-44/>