154- ] English Literature
Mary Robinson (poet)
Mary
Robinson (née Darby; 27 November 1757 – 26 December 1800) was an English
actress, poet, dramatist, novelist, and celebrity figure. She lived in England,
in the cities of Bristol and London; she also lived in France and Germany for a
time. She enjoyed poetry from the age of seven and started working, first as a
teacher and then as actress, from the age of 14. She wrote many plays, poems
and novels. She was a celebrity, gossiped about in newspapers, famous for her
acting and writing. During her lifetime she was known as "the English
Sappho". She earned her nickname "Perdita" for her role as
Perdita (heroine of Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale) in 1779. She was the first
public mistress of King George IV while he was still Prince of Wales.
Biography
Early life
Robinson
was born in Bristol, England to Nicholas Darby, a naval captain, and his wife
Hester (née Vanacott) who had married at Donyatt, Somerset, in 1749, and was
baptised 'Polle(y)' ("Spelt 'Polle' in the official register and 'Polly'
in the Bishop's Transcript") at St Augustine's Church, Bristol, 19 July
1758, the entry noting that she was born on 27 November 1756. In her memoirs,
Robinson gives her birth in 1758, but the year 1757 seems more likely according
to recently published research (see appendix to Byrne, 2005). Robinson attended
a school in Bristol run by the social reformer Hannah More. More brought her
students, including Robinson, to see King Lear. Her father deserted her mother
and took a mistress when Robinson was still a child. The family hoped for a
reconciliation, but Captain Darby made it clear that this was not going to
happen. Without the support of her husband, Hester Darby supported herself and
the five children born of the marriage by starting a school for young girls in
Little Chelsea, London (where Robinson taught by her 14th birthday). However,
during one of his brief returns to the family, Captain Darby had the school
closed (which he was entitled to do by English law). Captain Darby died in the
Russian naval service in 1785. When Robinson was 15 years old, Samuel Cox, a
solicitor, told the famed actor David Garrick about Robinson and brought her to
Garrick's home in the Adelphi. Garrick was profoundly impressed with Robinson.
He was especially enchanted by her voice, remarking that it bore a resemblance
to the much-admired Susannah Cibber. Garrick had just retired but decided to
tutor Robinson in acting. Robinson noted, "My tutor [David Garrick] was
the most sanguine in his expectations of my success, and every rehearsal seemed
to strengthen his flattering opinion... He would sometimes dance a minuet with
me, sometimes request me to sing the favourite ballads of the day."
Marriage
Hester
Darby encouraged her daughter to accept the proposal of an articled clerk,
Thomas Robinson, who claimed to have an inheritance. Mary was against this
idea; however, after falling ill and watching him take care of her and her
younger brother, she felt that she owed him, and she did not want to disappoint
her mother who was pushing for the engagement. After the early marriage,
Robinson discovered her husband did not have an inheritance. He continued to
live an elaborate lifestyle, however, and made no effort to hide multiple
affairs. Subsequently, Mary supported their family. After her husband
squandered their money, the couple fled to Talgarth, Breconshire (where
Robinson's only daughter, Mary Elizabeth, was born in November). Here they
lived in a fairly large estate, called Tregunter Park. Eventually her husband
was imprisoned for debt in the Fleet Prison where she lived with him for many
months. While it was common for the wives of prisoners to live with their
husbands while indebted, children were usually sent to live with relatives to
keep them away from the dangers of prison. However, Robinson was deeply devoted
to her daughter Maria, and when her husband was imprisoned, Robinson brought
the six-month-old baby with her.
It
was in the Fleet Prison that Robinson's literary career really began, as she
found that she could publish poetry to earn money, and to give her an escape
from the harsh reality that had become her life. Her first book, Poems By Mrs.
Robinson, was published in 1775 by C. Parker. Additionally, Robinson's husband
was offered work in the form of copying legal documents so he could try to pay
back some of his debts, but he refused to do anything. Robinson, in an effort
to keep the family together and to get back to normal life outside of prison,
took the job instead, collecting the pay that her husband neglected to earn.
During this time, Mary Robinson found a patron in Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess
of Devonshire, who sponsored the publication of Robinson's second volume of
poems, Captivity.
Theatre
After
her husband obtained his release from prison, Robinson decided to return to the
theatre. She launched her acting career and took to the stage playing Juliet at
Drury Lane Theatre in December 1776. The renowned playwright, author, and
Member of Parliament, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, demonstrated significant
support for Robinson. He was a constant presence by her side, offering
encouragement as she embarked on the stage in this role. Robinson was best
known for her facility with the 'breeches parts', and her performances as Viola
in William Shakespeare'sTwelfth Night and Rosalind in As You Like It won her
extensive praise. But she gained popularity with playing in Florizel and
Perdita, an adaptation of Shakespeare, with the role of Perdita (heroine of The
Winter's Tale) in 1779. It was during this performance that she attracted the
notice of the young Prince of Wales, later King George IV of the United
Kingdom. He offered her twenty thousand pounds to become his mistress. During
this time, the very young Emma, Lady Hamilton sometimes worked as her maid and
dresser at the theatre.
With
her new social prominence, Robinson became a trend-setter in London,
introducing a loose, flowing muslin style of gown based upon Grecian statuary
that became known as the Perdita. It took Robinson a considerable amount of
time to decide to leave her husband for the Prince, as she did not want to be
seen by the public as that type of woman. Throughout much of her life she
struggled to live in the public eye and also to stay true to the values in
which she believed. She eventually gave in to her desires to be with a man who
she thought would treat her better than Mr Robinson. However, the Prince ended
the affair in 1781, refusing to pay the promised sum. "Perdita"
Robinson was left to support herself through an annuity promised by the Crown
(but rarely paid), in return for some letters written by the Prince, and
through her writings. After her affair with the young Prince of Wales she
became famous for her rides in her extravagant carriages and her celebrity–like
perception by the public.
Literary Career
“A
woman of undoubted Genius,” according to Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Mary Robinson
was an English actress, author, celebrity, and ardent supporter of the rights
of women who gained considerable fame during her lifetime.
Known
by the nickname “Perdita,” after her role in Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale in
1779, Robinson wrote eight novels, the first of which, Vancenza; or the Dangers
of Credulity (1792), a Gothic story of seduction, quickly sold out its first
publication. As a poet she was prolific and innovative, publishing 14 volumes
of poetry during her lifetime, with two collections published posthumously. Her
poetry is characterized by an innovative and insurgent spirit commonly associated
with poets of the Romantic period. Composed in highly original meters and
forms, much of her work demonstrates Robinson's interest in the marginalized,
downtrodden figures of society, while others, such as “The Haunted Beach,” “The
Lady of the Black Tower,” “Stanzas Written after Successive Nights of
Melancholy Dreams,” and “To the Poet Coleridge,” reveal a fascination for the
fantastic, the dream-like states of semi-consciousness, and the imagination.
Robinson earned much popular and critical praise, and was part of the literary
circle that included Robert Merry, John Wolcot, William Godwin, Mary
Wollstonecraft, and Coleridge. In the last year of her life, Robinson succeeded
Robert Southey as poetry editor for the Morning Post, for which she was also a
regular contributor, and published Lyrical Tales (1800), a book which prompted
William Wordsworth to reconsider the title for the second edition of Lyrical
Ballads.
Public
interest in Robinson stemmed not only from her literary accomplishments, but
from her well-publicized personal life. She gained fame and popularity as an
actress, debuting in the role of Juliet in December 1776. Her success in
theater lasted the following for seasons and gave Robinson and her husband
access to fashionable society. During her performance as Perdita, she caught
the eye of the young Prince of Wales, later George IV, and the two were briefly
romantically involved. Thereafter, she became a permanent fixture of daily
papers, which detailed her personal life and cemented her status as a
celebrity.
Sadly,
Robinson’s final months were plagued by debt, illness, and despair. She died on
December 26, 1800.
Later life and death
Mary Robinson, who now lived separately from her
husband, went on to have several love affairs, most notably with Banastre
Tarleton, a soldier who had recently distinguished himself fighting in the
American War of Independence. Prior to their relationship, Robinson had been
having an affair with a man named Lord Malden. According to one account, Malden
and Tarleton were betting men, and Malden was so confident in Robinson's
loyalty to him, and believed that no man could ever take her from him. As such,
he made a bet of a thousand guineas that none of the men in his circle could
seduce her. Unfortunately for Malden, Tarleton accepted the bet and swooped in
to not only seduce Robinson, but establish a relationship that would last the
next 15 years. This relationship, though rumoured to have started on a bet, saw
Tarleton's rise in military rank and his concomitant political successes,
Mary's own various illnesses, financial vicissitudes and the efforts of
Tarleton's own family to end the relationship. They had no children, although
Robinson had a miscarriage. However, in the end, Tarleton married Susan Bertie,
an heiress and an illegitimate daughter of the young 4th Duke of Ancaster, and
niece of his sisters Lady Willoughby de Eresby and Lady Cholmondeley. In 1783,
Robinson suffered a mysterious illness that left her partially paralysed.
Biographer Paula Byrne speculates that a streptococcal infection resulting from
a miscarriage led to a severe rheumatic fever that left her disabled for the
rest of her life.
From the late 1780s, Robinson became distinguished
for her poetry and was called "the English Sappho". In addition to
poems, she wrote eight novels, three plays, feminist treatises, and an
autobiographical manuscript that was incomplete at the time of her death. Like
her contemporary Mary Wollstonecraft, she championed the rights of women and
was an ardent supporter of the French Revolution. She died in poverty at
Englefield Cottage, Englefield Green, Surrey, 26 December 1800, aged 44, having
survived several years of ill health, and was survived by her daughter, Maria
Elizabeth (1774–1818), who was also a published novelist. Administration of her
estate was granted to her husband Thomas Robinson from whom she had long been
separated and who in 1803 inherited a substantial estate from his half-brother
William. One of Robinson's dying wishes was to see the rest of her works
published. She tasked her daughter, Maria Robinson, with publishing most of
these works. She also placed her Memoirs in the care of her daughter, insisting
that she publish the work. Maria Robinson published Memoirs just a few months
later.
Portraits
During her lifetime, Robinson also enjoyed the
distinction of having her image captured by the most notable artists of the
period. The earliest known, drawn by James Roberts II, depicts "Mrs.
Robinson in the Character of Amanda" from Cibber's Love's Last Shift in
1777. In 1781, Thomas Gainsborough produced an oil sketch, Mrs. Mary Robinson
'Perdita', and an untitled study. That year, George Romney also painted Mrs.
Mary Robinson and John Keyse Sherwin printed an untitled portrait. Joshua
Reynolds sketched a study for what became Portrait of a Lady in 1782, and in
1784, he finished Mrs Robinson as Contemplation for which he also sketched a
study. George Dance the Younger sketched a later portrait in 1793.
Literature
In 1792, Robinson published her most popular novel
which was a Gothic novel titled, Vancenza; or The Dangers of Credulity. The
books were "sold out by lunch time on the first day and five more editions
quickly followed, making it one of the top-selling novels in the latter part of
the eighteenth century." It did not receive either critical or popular
acclaim. In 1794, she wrote The Widow; or, A Picture of Modern Times, which
portrayed themes of manners in the fashionable world. Since Robinson was a
fashion icon and very much involved in the fashion world the novel did not get
a lot of favourable reception in 1794 as it might have now. In 1796, she wrote
Angelina: A Novel. It cost more money than it brought in. Through this novel,
she offers her thoughts on the afterlife of her literary career.
There has been an increase in scholarly attention to
Robinson’s literary output in recent years. While most of the early literature
written about Robinson focused on her sexuality, emphasising her affairs and
fashions, she also spoke out about woman's place in the literary world, for
which she began to receive the attention of feminists and literary scholars in
the 1990s. Robinson recognised that, "women writers were deeply ambivalent
about the myths of authorship their male counterparts had created" and as
a result she sought to elevate woman's place in the literary world by
recognising women writers in her own work. In A Letter to the Women of England,
Robinson includes an entire page dedicated to English women writers to support
her notion that they were just as capable as men of being successful in the
literary world. These ideas have continued to keep Mary Robinson relevant in
literary discussions today. In addition to maintaining literary and cultural
notability, she has re-attained a degree of celebrity in recent years when
several biographies of her appeared, including one by Paula Byrne entitled
Perdita: The Literary, Theatrical, and Scandalous Life of Mary Robinson that
became a top-10 best-seller after being selected for the Richard & Judy
Book Club.
An eight-volume scholarly edition of Robinson's
complete works was published in 2009–2010. In 2011, Daniel Robinson (no
relation), editor of the poetry for the edition, published the first scholarly
monograph to focus exclusively on her literary achievement--The Poetry of Mary
Robinson: Form and Fame. A second monograph on Robinson's literary career, Mary
Robinson and the Genesis of Romanticism: Literary Dialogues and Debts,
1784–1821, by Ashley Cross, appeared in 2016. Although, Robinson's novels were
not as successful as she hoped, she had a talent for her poetry. Her ability to
produce poetry can be seen furthermore in her poems titled "Sappho and
Phaeon". Since the press had given her the name "The English
Sappho", a clear relationship can be drawn between these poems and her
literary name. The poems are love poems and many scholars have come to the
conclusion that they represent her affairs with the Prince of Wales. Mary Darby
Robinson was not only praised in literary circles for her poetry but also for her
works written in prose. The two best known examples are "A Letter to the
Women of England" (1798) and "The Natural Daughter" (1799). Both
her works are dealing with the role of women during the Romantic Era. Mary
Robinson as much as Mary Wollenstonecraft tried to put the focus on how
inferior women were treated in comparison to men . The discrepancy can be seen
in both of her works. "The Natural Daughter" can be seen as an
autobiography of Mary Robinson. The characters are in many ways patterns of her
own life and the stages of her life. All the characters are symbols of her own
coming of age or people she met in her life.
Poetry
From
the late 1780s, Robinson, striving to separate herself from her past scandals,
and life as a theatre actress, turned to writing as a full-time career.
Robinson, disregarding her previous associations with the nickname
"Perdita", meaning "lost one", soon became distinguished
for her poetry and was reclassified as "the English Sappho" by the
English public. During her 25-year writing career, from 1775 until her
premature death in 1800, Robinson produced an immense body of work. In addition
to eight collections of poems, Robinson wrote eight novels, three plays,
feminist treatises, and an autobiographical manuscript that was incomplete at
the time of her death.
Poems
by Mrs. Robinson was published by C. Parker, in London, in 1775.
"Poems" consisted of "twenty-six ballads, odes, and
elegies" that "echo traditional values, praising values such as
charity, sincerity, and innocence, particularly in a woman”. Robinson's
husband, Thomas Robinson was imprisoned at the King's Bench Prison for fifteen
months for the gambling debts he acquired. Robinson originally intended for the
profits made from this collection to help pay off his debts. But the
publication of Poems could not prevent his imprisonment. Robinson lived for
nine months and three weeks with Thomas and their baby within the squalor of
prison.
Motivated
by the months she spent in prison, Robinson wrote Captivity; a Poem and Celadon
and Lydia, a Tale, published by T. Becket in London, in 1777. This collection
"described the horrors of captivity and painted a sympathetic picture of
the 'wretch' and the 'guiltless partners of his poignant woes'...The poem ends
admonishing people to open their hearts and to pity the unfortunate..."
Following
the publication of Captivity, Robinson established a new poetic identity for
herself. Robinson let go of her Della Cruscan style when she wrote Poems by
Mary Robinson, published in 1791 by J. Bell in London, and Poems by Mrs.
Robinson, published in 1793 by T. Spilsbury in London. A review was written by
the Gentleman's Magazine and the reviewer stated that if Robinson had been less
blessed with "beauty and captivating manners","her poetical
taste might have been confined in its influence". At the end of the
review, "the Gentleman's Magazine describes her poetry as elegant and
harmonious.
In
1795, Robinson wrote a satirical poem titled London's Summer Morning, but it
was published after her death in 1800. This poem showcased Robinson's critical
perspective of the infrastructure and society of London. Robinson described the
busy and loud sounds of the industrialised city in the morning. She employed
characters such as the chimney-boy, and ruddy housemaid to make a heavy
critique on the way English society treated children as both innocent and
fragile creatures.
In
1796, Robinson argued for women's rationality, their right to education and
illustrated ideas of free will, suicide, rationalisation, empiricism and
relationship to sensibility in Sappho and Phaon: In a Series of Legitimate
Sonnets.
During
the 1790s, Robinson was highly inspired by feminism and desired to spread her
liberal sentiments through her writing. She was an ardent admirer of Mary
Wollstonecraft, an established and influential feminist writer of the period.
But to Robinson's surprise, her intense feelings were not reciprocated by
Wollstonecraft. While Robinson expected a strong friendship between the two of
them to flourish, Wollstonecraft "found Robinson herself considerably less
appealing than the title character of Angelina". In 1796, Wollstonecraft
wrote an extremely harsh review of Robinson's work in the Analytical Review. It
was this critique that was not critical , or well thought out. Instead,
Wollstonecraft's review of Robinson proved to be relatively shallow and pointed
at her jealousy of Robinson's comparable freedom. Wollstonecraft had the
potential to spend more of her own time writing, instead of having to entertain
her husband, William Goodwin. Robinson's "Letter to the Women of England
against Mental Subordination" is still powerful reading. Robinson
reiterates the rights women have to live by sexual passion.
Lastly,
in 1800, after years of failing health and decline into financial ruin,
Robinson wrote her last piece of literature during her lifetime: a series of
poems titled the Lyrical Tales, published by Longman & Rees, in London.
This poetry collection explored themes of domestic violence, misogyny, violence
against destitute characters, and political oppression. "Robinson's last
work pleads for a recognition of the moral and rational worth of women: 'Let me
ask this plain and rational question-- is not woman a human being, gifted with
all the feelings that inhabit the bosom of man?" Robinson's main objective
was to respond to Lyrical Ballads written by authors Wordsworth and Coleridge;
who were not as well known at the time. Although it was not as highly praised
as Mary Wollstonecraft's "A Vindication of the Rights of Woman",
published in 1792, Lyrical Tales provides a "powerful critique of the
division of duties and privileges between the sexes. It places Robinson firmly
on the side of the 'feminist' thinkers or 'modern' philosophers of the 1790s,
as one of the strong defenders of her sex".
Criticism and reception
Robinson
was known as a sexualised celebrity, but she was a very talented writer.
Robinson did not receive recognition for her work until much later because of
"strict attitudes led to a rejection of the literary work of such a
notorious woman." asure seeking. She was named by her friend Samuel Taylor
Coleridge "as a woman of undoubted genius." The collection of Poems
published in 1791 had a "subscription list of 600 people was headed by His
Royal Highness, George, Prince of Wales, and included many other members of the
nobility. Some people subscribed because of her writing, some because of her
notoriety, and some perhaps out of pity for the former actress, now crippled
and ill. Reviews were generally kind, and noted traces in her poems of a
sensibility that would later be termed Romanticism." Twenty years after
her death the Poetical Works of The Late Mrs. Robinson was published in 1824,
which speaks to her ongoing popularity . Robinson's second novel The Widow, and
in her controversial comedy Nobody : A Comedy in Two Acts both of which,
according to newspaper reports, offended fashionable women. Needless to say,
Robinson's playwright career was short-lived after all the bad reviews of her
play. The upper class interpreted her satire as mockery on female gambling and
it was an attack on moral legitimacy of the Whig elite. The upper class
interpretation of Nobody reveals a great deal about the social and political
anxieties during the revolutionary era.
Robinson's
poems were popular, especially after she produced a variety of poems whilst
working at the newspaper The Morning Post. The poetry columns had a double
agenda of pleasing a substantial and diverse audience and shaping them into a
select group of elite readers eager to buy and consume books. The public adored
the novel Vancenza; or The Dangers of Credulity, but the critical reception was
mixed. Furthermore, a biographer Paula Byrne recently dismissed it as a
"product of the vogue for Gothic fiction [that] now seems overblown to the
point of absurdity." Although Robinson's poetry was more popular than her
other works, the most lucrative "was her prose. The money helped to
support herself, her mother and daughter, and often Banastre Tarleton.[citation
needed] Novels such as Vancenza (1792), The Widow (1794), Angelina (1796), and
Walsingham (1797) went through multiple editions and were often translated into
French and German. They owed part of their popularity to their suspected
autobiographical elements. Even when her characters were placed in scenes of
gothic horror, their views could be related to the experiences of their
author."
Mary
Robinson was one of the first female celebrities of the modern era. She was
dubbed as scandalous, but on the other hand educated and able to be partially
independent from her husband. She was one of the first women to enter the
sphere of writing, and to be successful there. Scholars often argue that she
used her celebrity status only in her own advantage, but it is to be noted how
much she contributed to the awareness of early feminism. She tried to elaborate
the ideas of equality for women in England during the late 18th century.
Nevertheless, many contemporary women were not amused with how she exposed
herself to the public and ostracised her. They did not want to be associated
with her, since they feared to receive a bad reputation sympathising with Mary
Robinson.
Works
Poetry
Poems
by Mrs. Robinson (London: C. Parker, 1775) Digital Edition
Captivity,
a Poem and Celadon and Lydia, a Tale. Dedicated, by Permission, to Her Grace
the Duchess of Devonshire. (London: T. Becket, 1777)
Ainsi
va le Monde, a Poem. Inscribed to Robert Merry, Esq. A.M. [Laura Maria]
(London: John Bell, 1790) Digital Edition
Poems
by Mrs. M. Robinson (London: J. Bell, 1791) Digital Edition
The
Beauties of Mrs. Robinson (London: H. D. Symonds, 1791)
Monody
to the Memory of Sir Joshua Reynolds, Late President of the Royal Academy,
&c. &c. &c. (London: J. Bell, 1792)
Ode
to the Harp of the Late Accomplished and Amiable Louisa Hanway (London: John
Bell, 1793)
Modern
Manners, a Poem. In Two Cantos . By Horace Juvenal (London: Printed for the
Author, 1793)
Sight,
the Cavern of Woe, and Solitude . Poems (London: T. Spilsbury and Son, 1793)
Monody
to the Memory of the Late Queen of France (London: T. Spilsbury and Son, 1793)
Poems
by Mrs. M. Robinson . Volume the Second (London: T. Spilsbury and Son, 1793)
Poems,
by Mrs. Mary Robinson . A New Edition (London: T. Spilsbury, 1795)
Sappho
and Phaon . In a Series of Legitimate Sonnets, with Thoughts on Poetical
Subjects, and Anecdotes of the Grecian Poetess (London: For the Author, 1796)
Digital Edition
Lyrical
Tales, by Mrs. Mary Robinson (London: T. N. Longman and O. Rees, 1800) Digital
Edition
The Mistletoe . --- A Christmas Tale [Laura Maria]
(London: Laurie & Whittle, 1800)
Novels
Vancenza;
or , the Dangers of Credulity. In Two Volumes (London: Printed for the
Authoress, 1792)
The
Widow , or a Picture of Modern Times. A Novel, in a Series of Letters, in Two
Volumes (London: Hookham and Carpenter, 1794)
Angelina;
a Novel, in Three Volumes (London: Printed for the Author, 1796)
Hubert
de Sevrac, a Romance, of the Eighteenth Century (London: Printed for the
Author, 1796)
Walsingham;
or, the Pupil of Nature . A Domestic Story (London: T. N. Longman, 1797)
The
False Friend: a Domestic Story (London: T. N. Longman and O. Rees, 1799)
Natural
Daughter . With Portraits of the Leadenhead Family] . A Novel (London: T. N.
Longman and O. Rees, 1799)
Dramas
The
Lucky Escape, A Comic Opera (performed on 23 April 1778 at the Theatre Royal,
Drury Lane)
The
Songs, Chorusses, &c. in The Lucky Escape, a Comic Opera, as Performed at
the Theatre-Royal, in Drury-Lane (London: Printed for the Author, 1778)
Kate
of Aberdeen (a comic opera withdrawn in 1793 and never staged)
Nobody
. A Comedy in Two Acts (performed on 27 November 1794 at the Theatre Royal,
Drury Lane) Digital Edition
The
Sicilian Lover . A Tragedy . In Five Acts (London: Printed for the Author,
1796)
Political treatises
Impartial
Reflections on the Present Situation of the Queen of France; by A Friend to
Humanity (London: John Bell, 1791)
A
Letter to the Women of England , on the
Injustice of Mental Subordination With Anecdotes . By Anne Frances Randall]
(London: T. N. Longman and O. Rees, 1799) Digital Edition
Thoughts
on the Condition of Women , and on the Injustice of Mental Subordination
(London: T. N. Longman and O. Rees, 1799)
Essays
"The
Sylphid . No. I", Morning Post and Gazetteer, 29 October 1799: 2 (also
printed in Memoirs 3: 3–8)
"The
Sylphid. No. II", Morning Post and Gazetteer, 7 November 1799: 2 (also
printed in Memoirs 3: 8–16)
"The
Sylphid . No. III", Morning Post and Gazetteer, 16 November 1799: 3 (also
printed in Memoirs 3: 17–21)
"The
Sylphid . No. IV", Morning Post and Gazetteer, 23 November 1799: 2 (edited
version printed in Memoirs 3: 21–26)
"The
Sylphid. No. V", Morning Post and Gazetteer, 27 November 1799: 2 (also
printed in Memoirs 3: 27–31)
"The
Sylphid . No. VI", Morning Post and Gazetteer, 7 December 1799: 2 (edited
version printed in Memoirs 3: 31–35)
"The
Sylphid . No. VII", Morning Post and Gazetteer, 19 December 1799: 2 (also
printed in Memoirs 3: 35–40)
"The
Sylphid . No. VIII", Morning Post and Gazetteer, 24 December 1799: 2 (also
printed in Memoirs 3: 41–45)
"The
Sylphid . No. IX", Morning Post and Gazetteer, 2 January 1800: 3 (also
printed as No. XIV in Memoirs 3: 74–80)
"To
the Sylphid" , Morning Post and Gazetteer, 4 January 1800: 3 (also printed
as No. IX in Memoirs 3: 46–50)
"The Sylphid . No. X", Morning Post and
Gazetteer, 7 January 1800: 3 (also printed in Memoirs 3: 51–57)
"The Sylphid . No. XI", Morning Post and
Gazetteer, 11 January 1800: 2 (also printed in Memoirs 3: 58–63)
" The Sylphid. No. XII", Morning Post and
Gazetteer, 31 January 1800: 2 (edited version printed in Memoirs 3: 63–68)
" The Sylphid . No. XIII", Memoirs 3: 68-73
(no extant copy of Morning Post exists)
"Present State of the Manners, Society, &c.
&c. of the Metropolis of England", Monthly Magazine, 10 (August 1800):
35–38.
"Present State of the Manners, Society, &c.
&c. of the Metropolis of England", Monthly Magazine, 10 (September
1800): 138–40
"Present State of the Manners, Society, &c.
&c. of the Metropolis of England", Monthly Magazine, 10 (October
1800): 218–22
"Present State of the Manners, Society, &c.
&c. of the Metropolis of England", Monthly Magazine, 10 (October
1800): 305–06
Translation
Picture
of Palermo by Dr. Hager translated from the German by Mrs. Mary Robinson
(London: R. Phillips, 1800)
Biographical
sketches
"Anecdotes
of Eminent Persons: Memoirs of the Late Duc de Biron", Monthly Magazine 9
(February 1800): 43–46
"Anecdotes
of Eminent Persons: Account of Rev. John Parkhurst", Monthly Magazine 9
(July 1800): 560–61
"Anecdotes
of Eminent Persons: Account of Bishop Parkhurst", Monthly Magazine 9 (July
1800): 561
"Anecdotes
of Eminent Persons: Additional Anecdotes of Philip Egalité Late Duke of
Orleans", Monthly Magazine 10 (August 1800): 39–40
"Anecdotes
of Eminent Persons: Anecdotes of the Late Queen of France", Monthly
Magazine 10 (August 1800): 40–41
Posthumous
Publications
"Mr.
Robert Ker Porter". Public Characters of 1800–1801 (London: R. Phillips,
1801)
Memoirs
of the Late Mrs. Robinson , Written by Herself with Some Posthumous Pieces. In
Four Volumes (London: R. Phillips, 1801)
"Jasper.
A Fragment", Memoirs of the Late Mrs. Robinson, Vol. 3 (London: R.
Phillips, 1801)
"The
Savage of Aveyron", Memoirs of the Late Mrs. Robinson, Vol. 3 (London: R.
Phillips, 1801)
"The
Progress of Liberty", Memoirs of the Late Mrs. Robinson, Vol. 4 (London:
R. Phillips, 1801)
The
Poetical Works of the Late Mrs. Mary Robinson: Including Many Pieces Never
Before Published. In Three Volumes (London: Richard Phillips, 1806)
Mary Robinson Poems
Absence
, Ainsi Va le Monde , All Alone , Canzonet , Cupid Sleeping , Deborah's Parrot,
a Village Tale , Echo to Him Who Complains , Edmund's Wedding , Elegy on the
Death of Lady Middleton , Elegy to the Memory of David Garrick , Esq. , Elegy
to the Memory of Richard Boyle, Esq. , Female Fashions for 1799 , Golfre,
Gothic Swiss Tale , January, 1795 , Lines inscribed to P. de Loutherbourg, Esq.
R. A. , Lines on Hearing it Declared that No Women Were So Handsome as the
English , Lines to Him Who Will Understand Them , Lines Written by the Side of
a River , Lines Written on the Sea-Coast ,Ode on Adversity , Ode to Beauty , Ode
to Della Crusca , Ode to Despair , Ode to Eloquence , Ode to Envy , Ode to
Health
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