The Prince's Mistress, Perdita
The Prince's Mistress, Perdita

Author: Hester Davenport

Publisher: The History Press

Published: 2011-10-21

Total Pages: 203

ISBN-13: 0752472046

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Mary Robinson, nicknamed 'Perdita' by the Prince of Wales after her role on the London stage, was a woman in whom showmanship and reckless behaviour contrasted with romantic sensibility and radical thinking. Born in Bristol in 1758, she moved to London with her family at a young age and was trained by Garrick for the theatre. After a royal command performance as Perdita in 'The Winter's Tale', she was hotly pursued by George, the 17-year-old Prince of Wales, and she became his first mistress. He gave her £20,000, a house in Berkeley Square, and another in Old Windsor; the popular press followed the affair with glee and gusto. But when he left her she blackmailed him for the return of his letters. A string of other high-profile lovers followed including Lord Malden, Charles James Fox and, most notably, Lt Col Tarlton. However, a miscarriage left Mary semi-paralysed and when her last lover deserted her to marry someone else, she wrote two novels in revenge. Here growing literary reputation brought in many friends, including Coleridge but her death saw the bailiffs trying to evict her from her cottage. This lively account of one of the most extraordinary women of her age is set against the social, literary, political and military background of the times.

The Prince's Mistress, Perdita
The Prince's Mistress, Perdita

Author: Hester Davenport

Publisher: The History Press

Published: 2011-10-21

Total Pages: 210

ISBN-13: 0752472046

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Mary Robinson, nicknamed 'Perdita' by the Prince of Wales after her role on the London stage, was a woman in whom showmanship and reckless behaviour contrasted with romantic sensibility and radical thinking. Born in Bristol in 1758, she moved to London with her family at a young age and was trained by Garrick for the theatre. After a royal command performance as Perdita in "The Winter's Tale", she was hotly pursued by George, the 17-year-old Prince of Wales, and she became his first mistress. He gave her GBP 20,000, a house in Berkeley Square, and another in Old Windsor; the popular press followed the affair with glee and gusto. But when he left her she blackmailed him for the return of his letters. A string of other high-profile lovers followed including Lord Malden, Charles James Fox and, most notably, Lt Col Tarlton. However, a miscarriage left Mary semi-paralysed and when her last lover deserted her to marry someone else, she wrote two novels in revenge. Her growing literary reputation brought in many friends, including Coleridge but her death saw the bailiffs trying to evict her from her cottage. This lively account of one of the most extraordinary women of her age is set against the social, literary, political and military background of the times.

Bird of Paradise
Bird of Paradise

Author: Sarah Gristwood

Publisher: Random House

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 575

ISBN-13: 0553816179

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Few women's lives have described such an arc as that of Mary Robinson. She began her career as an actress, became a royal mistress and blackmailer, and ended it just two decades later as a Romantic poet. This biography explores Georgian England during a period of extreme political, social and cultural upheaval through the life of this woman.

Perdita's Prince
Perdita's Prince

Author: Jean Plaidy

Publisher: Random House

Published: 2012-08-30

Total Pages: 352

ISBN-13: 1448150434

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One of the county's most widely read novelists brings us scandalous Prince Charming - George, Prince of Wales ... George III, fighting madness and the loss of the American colonies, has a domestic crisis as well. The 17-year-old Prince of Wales, fighting the puritanical decorum of his parents' court, is about to begin his career of womanizing, gambling and consorting with the king's political enemies. At the Drury Lane Theatre, the prince is enchanted by popular actress Mary Robinson in the role of Perdita in A Winter's Tale. Although she is older, married and a mother, the Prince sets her up as his mistress. Mary has had many adventures, and is not averse to the attentions of the young price despite much opposition from those around them. Like most royal scandals however, the affair doesn’t last. George has no notion of fidelity and soon loses interest in her, but she won’t let him escape without a fight. The affair is used to advantage by the King's political opponents, while the Prince moves on to newer, more flamboyant dalliances, happily anticipating the unbridled indulgence his 21st birthday will permit.

Perdita
Perdita

Author: Paula Byrne

Publisher: Random House

Published: 2007-12-18

Total Pages: 482

ISBN-13: 0307431606

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This thoroughly engaging and richly researched book presents a compelling portrait of Mary Robinson–darling of the London stage, mistress to the most powerful men in England, feminist thinker, and bestselling author, described by Samuel Taylor Coleridge as “a woman of undoubted genius.” One of the most flamboyant free spirits of the late eighteenth century, Mary Robinson led a life that was marked by reversals of fortune. After being abandoned by her merchant father, who left England to establish a fishery among the Canadian Eskimos, Mary was married, at age fifteen, to Thomas Robinson. His dissipation landed the couple and their baby in debtors’ prison, where Mary wrote her first book of poetry, gaining her the patronage of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire. On her release, Mary rose to become one of the London theater’s most alluring actresses, famously playing Perdita in The Winter’s Tale for a rapt audience that included the Prince of Wales, who fell madly in love with her. Never one to pass up an opportunity, she later used his ardent and numerous love letters as blackmail. After being struck down by paralysis, apparently following a miscarriage, she remade herself yet again, this time as a popular writer who was also admired by the leading intellectuals of the day. Filled with triumph and despair, and then triumph again, the amazing, multifaceted life of “Perdita” is marvelously captured in this stunning biography.

The Works of Mary Robinson, Part I Vol 1
The Works of Mary Robinson, Part I Vol 1

Author: William D Brewer

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2020-03-23

Total Pages: 708

ISBN-13: 1000749525

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Regularly the subject of cartoonists and satirical novelists, Mary Robinson achieved public notoriety as the mistress of the young Prince of Wales (George IV). Her association with figures such as William Godwin and Mary Wollstonecraft, and comparisons with Charlotte Smith, make her a serious figure for scholarly research.

Scarlet Women
Scarlet Women

Author: Ian Graham

Publisher: Macmillan

Published: 2016-01-26

Total Pages: 305

ISBN-13: 1466868171

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In 1965, an impoverished elderly woman was found dead in Nice, France. Her death marked the end of an era; she was the last of the great courtesans. Known as La Belle Otero, she was a volcanic Spanish beauty whose patrons included Kaiser Wilhelm II, the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII) and Grand Duke Nicholas of Russia. She accumulated an enormous fortune, but gambled it all away. Scarlet Women tells her story and many more, including: Marie Duplessis, who inspired characters by both Dumas and Verdi; Clara Ward, a rare American courtesan who hunted for a European aristocrat, but having married a Belgian prince, ran away with a gypsy violinist; Ninon de L'Enclos, who was offered 50,000 crowns by Cardinal Richelieu for one night. Money left in her will paid for Voltaire's education. Courtesans were an elite group of talented, professional mistresses. The most successful became wealthy and famous in their own right. While they led charmed lives, they occupied a curious position: they enjoyed freedom and political power unknown to most women, but they were ostracised by polite society. From the hetaerae of ancient Greece to the cortigiani onesti of 16th century Venice, the oiran of Edo-period Japan to the demimondaines of 19th century France, this captivating book--perfect for readers of A Treasury of Royal Scandals--uncovers the rich, colorful lives of these women who dared to pursue fortunes outside their societies' norms.

Lady of Passion
Lady of Passion

Author: Freda Lightfoot

Publisher: Severn House/ORIM

Published: 2013-10-01

Total Pages: 257

ISBN-13: 1780104421

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Experience a “surprisingly moving” tale of love, ambition, and heartbreak in this historical romance based on the life of Mary Robinson (Historical Novel Society). Bright, talented, and well-educated, young Mary Robinson aspires to be an actress, but her mother has other plans. Married off to a man that gambles away their money and is constantly unfaithful, Mary turns to the stage to support herself. It is there that she draws the attention of one of Britain’s most powerful men, the Prince of Wales. When the Prince professes his love, Mary soon finds herself giving up everything: her career, her husband, and her independence. But the royal’s affections are fickle, and soon Mary’s sacrifices are all for naught . . . A moving and tragic story based on Mary Robinson’s own memoirs, Lady of Passion reveals the intimate details of the life of one of the most famous women of her time.

A Letter to the Women of England and The Natural Daughter
A Letter to the Women of England and The Natural Daughter

Author: Mary Robinson

Publisher: Broadview Press

Published: 2003-01-02

Total Pages: 336

ISBN-13: 1460403649

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Mary Robinson’s A Letter to the Women of England (1799) is a radical response to the rampant anti-feminist sentiment of the late 1790s. In this work, Robinson encourages her female contemporaries to throw off the “glittering shackles” of custom and to claim their rightful places as the social and intellectual equals of men. Separately published in the same year, Robinson’s novel The Natural Daughter follows the story of Martha Morley, who defies her husband’s authority, adopts a found infant, is barred from her husband’s estate and is driven to seek work as an actress and author. The novel implicitly links and critiques domestic tyrants in England and Jacobin tyrants in France. This edition also includes: other writings by Mary Robinson (tributes, and an excerpt from The Progress of Liberty); writings by contemporaries on women, society, and revolution; and contemporary reviews of both works.

Royal Mistresses of the House of Hanover-Windsor
Royal Mistresses of the House of Hanover-Windsor

Author: Susanna de Vries

Publisher: Pirgos Press

Published: 2018-10-01

Total Pages: 342

ISBN-13: 1742982697

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The genuine love match between Prince William and Kate Middleton has rekindled enthusiasm for the British monarchy. In the past, young princes reluctantly entered into arranged marriages and took mistresses. Perdita Robinson, a famous actress, was enticed from the stage with promises of money to live with the fickle Prince of Wales, who turned her and her child onto the street. Perdita fought back, won a financial settlement and became a pioneer of women's writing. Edward VII's most fascinating mistresses were aristocrats' wives like the multi-talented unconventional Lady Jennie Churchill, mother of Winston, and the headstrong heiress, Daisy, Countess of Warwick, mother of one of Edward's love children. Beautiful Alice Keppel became the love of Edward's life and was the great-grandmother of Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, yet another royal mistress. Edward's grandson, Edward VIII suffered an attack of mumps that left him physically and mentally immature. He implored Mrs Freda Dudley Ward to elope but she refused. Another mistress, Lady Thelma Furness, star of Hollywood's silent screen, introduced Edward to the domineering Wallis Simpson who insisted the impotent king seek psychiatric help. In order that Wallis could look like a queen the Duke of Windsor lavished her with jewels and forgave her infidelities in this most intriguing of all royal stories.