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Memoirs of Mary Robinson: Perdita
This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.
272 pages, Paperback
First published August 21, 2015
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About the author
Mary Robinson
254 books20 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.
Mary Robinson, nee Darby (1757-1800) was an English poet and novelist. During her lifetime she was known as 'the English Sappho'. She was also known for her role as Perdita (heroine of Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale) in 1779 and as the first public mistress of George IV. After seeing her as Perdita, and declaring himself enraptured with her, the Prince of Wales, offered Mary Robinson twenty thousand pounds to become his mistress. However, he soon tired of her and abandoned her after a year, refusing to pay the money. Her reputation was destroyed by the affair, and she could no longer find work as an actress. Eventually, the Crown agreed to pay Robinson five thousand pounds, in return for the Prince's love letters to her. In 1783, at the age of 26, Robinson suffered a mysterious illness that left her partially paralyzed. From the late 1780s, she became distinguished for her poetry. In addition to poems, she wrote six novels, two plays, a feminist treatise, and an autobiographical manuscript that was incomplete at the time of her death.
Mary Robinson, nee Darby (1757-1800) was an English poet and novelist. During her lifetime she was known as 'the English Sappho'. She was also known for her role as Perdita (heroine of Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale) in 1779 and as the first public mistress of George IV. After seeing her as Perdita, and declaring himself enraptured with her, the Prince of Wales, offered Mary Robinson twenty thousand pounds to become his mistress. However, he soon tired of her and abandoned her after a year, refusing to pay the money. Her reputation was destroyed by the affair, and she could no longer find work as an actress. Eventually, the Crown agreed to pay Robinson five thousand pounds, in return for the Prince's love letters to her. In 1783, at the age of 26, Robinson suffered a mysterious illness that left her partially paralyzed. From the late 1780s, she became distinguished for her poetry. In addition to poems, she wrote six novels, two plays, a feminist treatise, and an autobiographical manuscript that was incomplete at the time of her death.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 30, 2018
‘In this awe-inspiring habitation, which I shall henceforth denominate the Minster House, during a tempestuous night, on the 27th of November, 1758, I first opened my eyes to this world of duplicity and sorrow.’
The remarkable story of an inspiring woman, Mary Robinson’s memoirs offer a compelling insight into the world of a middle-class woman in the second half of the eighteenth-century. Actress, poet, novelist, consort of princes, mother, abused wife, social commentator, Mary Robinson lived a life that most novelists would have been honoured to have imagined.
The remarkable story of an inspiring woman, Mary Robinson’s memoirs offer a compelling insight into the world of a middle-class woman in the second half of the eighteenth-century. Actress, poet, novelist, consort of princes, mother, abused wife, social commentator, Mary Robinson lived a life that most novelists would have been honoured to have imagined.
February 27, 2023
3.86 stars
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews