Vulgar History - ArtMuse： Mary Robinson, part one

00:00:00.000 Hello and welcome to a very special bonus episode type thing. This is not Vulgar History,

00:00:05.260 although I am Anne Foster and this is the Vulgar History podcast stream. What I'm sharing with you

00:00:10.120 today is an episode from my friend Grace Anna's podcast, Art Muse Podcast. So it ties in with

00:00:16.300 everything we've been talking about in the podcast, I promise, but first I want to explain to you

00:00:19.720 about the Art Muse Podcast. So this is a podcast that shares the life stories of the women pictured

00:00:24.620 in famous works of art, the muses, if you will. Many of Western art's most famous works have

00:00:30.300 depictions of women, but who were these women? Do they have their own stories to share with the

00:00:34.680 world? And in this case, she does. So the episode that I'm sharing with you today is Art Muse

00:00:40.240 podcast episode about Mary Robinson, AKA Perdita, who has come up a few times in the Vulgar History

00:00:47.680 Regency series, because honestly, the least interesting thing about her is that she was

00:00:52.480 briefly the mistress of prinny later george the fourth the prince of wales the husband of carolina

00:00:58.920 brunswick mary robinson's life is so much more interesting than that and i think i'm i had hoped

00:01:04.640 i i thought maybe i could fit her in this season of vulgar history but there wasn't space and i'm

00:01:08.480 like well no this works so well because i can just share this episode of art muse with you so this is

00:01:13.460 mary robinson part one and you can hear mary robinson part two on the art muse stream wherever

00:01:20.320 we get your podcasts. So enjoy Grace Anna's episode about the iconic Mary Robinson.

00:01:34.400 Today's episode contains brief discussions of infant death, gambling addiction, and alcoholism.

00:01:42.860 So if you are sensitive to these topics, please listen at your own discretion.

00:01:48.680 What is art without the muse? Many of Western art's most famous works are depictions of women.

00:01:57.980 But who were these women? Do they have their own stories to share with the world?

00:02:05.620 Hello and welcome to Art Muse, a podcast that aims to reshape the ways in which we interpret

00:02:11.640 well-known works of art by paying dues to the women whose images have been immortalized,

00:02:16.900 but whose names and stories have been wrongfully overlooked.

00:02:21.080 While these women's faces are familiar to viewers around the world,

00:02:24.940 their identities have been largely forgotten.

00:02:28.400 Together we will explore the important lives and legacy of the female muse

00:02:32.380 and appreciate these works of art from a new perspective,

00:02:36.060 through the eyes of the women whose image stares back at us.

00:02:39.760 Is the muse in actuality just as, if not more, important than the artists themselves?

00:02:46.220 And I'm your host, Grace Anna.

00:02:52.760 She was the most beautiful woman of her age, but she also had the brains to match.

00:03:00.160 She used her beauty to rise the ranks of London society and became one of the earliest female celebrities of the 18th century.

00:03:09.960 But this was not all done in vain.

00:03:13.360 Once she had created a name for herself,

00:03:16.320 she also became one of the most respected and prolific writers of her day

00:03:21.520 and used her writing to advocate for both women's rights and the abolition of slavery.

00:03:29.100 She was beautiful, but she was also brilliant,

00:03:32.300 and she deserves to be remembered just as much for her bright mind

00:03:37.080 as she is for her stunningly good looks.

00:03:41.420 Listeners, today I share with you the story of Mary Robinson, an accomplished actress,

00:03:49.100 poet, writer, activist, and intellectual, and one of the most fascinating women of her age.

00:03:58.140 Born on November 27, 1757, in Bristol, England, Mary was the daughter of an accomplished merchant.

00:04:07.460 Because his business was often overseas,

00:04:10.900 Mary's father was absent for much of her early childhood.

00:04:14.900 He eventually found himself a mistress

00:04:17.740 and abandoned Mary and her mother at a young age.

00:04:21.860 In an effort to build a new life for themselves,

00:04:25.320 Mary and her mother moved to London,

00:04:27.880 where Mary's exceptional beauty began to turn heads.

00:04:32.860 Unfortunately, one of those heads belonged to Thomas Robinson,

00:04:37.560 a young and sickly-looking man who claimed to be the heir to a large estate in Wales.

00:04:44.580 After a few months of persistent persuasion, Mary reluctantly agreed to marry him.

00:04:50.940 She was only 15 years old at the time of their wedding.

00:04:55.560 It soon became clear that Thomas Robinson was a fraud.

00:05:00.060 He had not only lied about being heir to a Welsh estate, but had a severe gambling addiction and notorious wandering eye.

00:05:10.500 Just two years into their marriage, Robinson landed him, Mary, and their recently born baby girl into a debtor's prison called The Fleet.

00:05:21.680 While Robinson continued to gamble and indulge in infidelity all through their time in prison,

00:05:28.460 Mary took a job as a copywriter and was eventually able to buy back their freedom.

00:05:34.540 She also spent much of this time writing poetry

00:05:37.420 and published her first book of poems at the age of 18, while still living in the fleet.

00:05:45.440 Shortly after their release from prison,

00:05:47.540 Mary became acquainted with the theater director in Covent Garden named Richard Sheridan.

00:05:53.840 Sheridan was immediately taken by Mary and sought to make her a star of Drury Lane, a popular theater in Covent Garden.

00:06:02.940 After some training, Mary made her debut as Juliette from Shakespeare's famous tragedy and became an overnight sensation.

00:06:12.860 Over the next few seasons, she performed a number of leading roles, such as Viola from Twelfth Night and Rosalind from As You Like It.

00:06:22.940 But the role she became most famous for was Perdita, the female love interest in The Winter's

00:06:30.380 Tale. And this fame had little to do with Mary's skills as an actress. It was during one of her

00:06:37.420 performances as Perdita that the Prince of Wales, later to become King George IV, fell in love with

00:06:45.620 her at first sight. He immediately began to shower Mary with love letters, and by that spring,

00:06:52.260 Mary and the Prince began a very public affair. Between her remarkable beauty,

00:06:58.960 talent as a performer, and now royal lover, Mary soon became a social sensation.

00:07:07.000 In fact, she is considered by many historians to be the first female celebrity of the modern age.

00:07:14.840 She was not only worshipped as the most beautiful woman in England,

00:07:18.880 but also the most fashionable, and she caused crowds and traffic jams everywhere she went.

00:07:26.620 At the height of their affair, the prince convinced Mary to end her career as an actress,

00:07:33.160 despite her immense success on the stage. Instead, he promised to give her £20,000 to sustain

00:07:41.260 herself. Tragically for Mary, the prince lost interest in her just a few months later,

00:07:48.200 and abandoned her without paying any of the money he promised.

00:07:53.800 Mary, who had given up her flourishing acting career at the prince's behest,

00:07:59.680 now found herself jobless and deep in debt.

00:08:03.980 Though their affair was short-lived,

00:08:06.460 her time with the prince left a permanent mark on Mary's reputation.

00:08:11.600 She would be referred to as Perdita for the rest of her life. 0.68

00:08:17.060 But despite the prince's abandonment of her, it would be Mary having the last laugh.

00:08:23.580 Shortly after their breakup, Mary arranged for her portrait to be done by not one, but four of the greatest artists of her day.

00:08:32.500 In a single season, Mary was painted by the renowned portraitists Sir Joshua Reynolds, Thomas Gainsborough, George Romney, and John Hopner.

00:08:45.740 Three of these four portraits were exhibited at that year's Royal Academy exhibition,

00:08:51.580 and Mary once again became the talk of the town.

00:08:56.400 Not only did her portraits receive glowing reviews, 0.67

00:09:00.320 but the prince was made to look foolish for wrongdoing such a beautiful woman.

00:09:06.220 Through her portraits, Mary made it known to the public 0.82

00:09:09.820 that she did not need the prince to flourish in society.

00:09:14.860 It was through Sir Joshua Reynolds that Mary met Colonel Tarleton, a distinguished military man

00:09:22.480 who made a name for himself fighting for the British in the American War of Independence.

00:09:29.060 Tarleton and Mary soon after embarked upon a steamy affair. Unfortunately, Tarleton was also

00:09:37.100 a gambler, and when he amassed a significant amount of debt, he had to flee the country.

00:09:44.080 Mary, who was pregnant with their child, chased after Tarleton in the middle of the night,

00:09:50.480 catching a severe chill.

00:09:52.800 She subsequently suffered a streptococcal infection, which not only caused her to miscarry,

00:09:59.380 but developed a severe rheumatic fever that left her permanently disabled.

00:10:06.040 Mary's entire life had drastically changed overnight, and she could no longer continue

00:10:12.500 as the beautiful society woman she had become famous as.

00:10:18.080 But instead of letting her tragic circumstances define her,

00:10:22.740 Mary decided to make the best of her unfortunate situation.

00:10:27.520 Now confined to bed for months at a time,

00:10:30.780 she returned to her early passion for writing

00:10:33.900 and transformed herself from actress and socialite to an author.

00:10:40.520 During her 25-year-long writing career, Mary went on to write seven novels, four collections of poems, two plays, and several published essays.

00:10:52.700 Much of her writing was radical by nature and advocated for both women's rights and the abolition of slavery.

00:11:01.980 In her late life, she also became the first female poetry editor for The Morning Post.

00:11:08.900 In the last years of her life, Mary also began writing her own autobiography.

00:11:15.340 Tragically, Mary passed away in December of 1800 at the age of 44, before her autobiography was completed.

00:11:25.480 One of her dying wishes was for her daughter to publish Mary's autobiography on her behalf, which her daughter did just a few months later.

00:11:36.180 After her death, Mary Robinson fell into relative obscurity.

00:11:41.460 And when she is remembered, it is far too often for her affair with the Prince of Wales

00:11:46.960 rather than her intellectual pursuits.

00:11:50.160 In this way, Mary's legacy has long been clouded in misogyny,

00:11:56.060 emphasizing her role as mistress and overlooking her immense career

00:12:00.720 as an actress, writer, intellectual, and activist.

00:12:05.280 So in today's episode, we aim to set her record straight and honor Mary as the brilliant, talented, and brave woman she was.

00:12:16.040 A woman who never let the tragedies of her life define her.

00:12:20.260 A woman who transformed herself into one of the most important writers of her day.

00:12:26.040 A woman who used her writing to advocate for a better world.

00:12:30.240 and as a woman, as the romantic poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge once described,

00:12:37.720 of undoubted genius. So without further ado, let's dive in to the incredible life of Mary Robinson.

00:12:48.400 Mary Darby was born on November 27, 1757 in Bristol, England. Her father, Nicholas Darby,

00:12:58.880 was American by origin and claimed to have been close friends with Benjamin Franklin.

00:13:05.540 After moving to Bristol, Nicholas Darby became a reputable merchant and a leading member of the

00:13:12.360 Society of Merchant Venturers, a union of overseas traders. Her mother, Hester Darby,

00:13:20.260 came from a prestigious English family. In fact, she was distantly related to the philosopher

00:13:26.600 John Locke. Hester was a lively and beautiful young woman, and when she came of age, she had

00:13:34.260 many impressive suitors lined up to ask for her hand in marriage. We do not know exactly how

00:13:41.860 Nicholas and Hester first met, but much to her parents' dismay, Hester turned down her other

00:13:48.780 marriage prospects to pursue Nicholas, who her parents felt was beneath her. Hester married

00:13:56.020 Nicholas shortly after, without her parents' approval. Mary was Nicholas and Hester's second

00:14:03.800 surviving child, born shortly after her older sister died of smallpox. Tragically, her sister

00:14:11.920 would not be the only sibling of hers to die prematurely, as one of her younger brothers

00:14:17.900 also died in early childhood. Of her surviving siblings, Mary was the middle child and the only

00:14:25.720 girl in the family, with an older and younger brother. Mary always described her childhood

00:14:32.980 as dark, melancholic, and moody, and feels right out of a gothic novel. In fact, even the night

00:14:41.520 she was born was an unusually tempestuous night. As Mary once wrote, I heard my mother say that a

00:14:50.200 more stormy hour she never remembered. The wind whistled, and the rain beat in torrents against

00:14:57.500 the casements of her chamber. Through life, the tempest has followed my footsteps, and I have in

00:15:04.700 vain looked for a short interval of repose from the perseverance of sorrow. If the weather wasn't

00:15:13.080 melodramatic enough, Mary was born in a house that had originally been part of an ancient monastery.

00:15:20.200 and still overlooked the cloisters of St. Augustine's Church.

00:15:25.800 Her room could only be reached by climbing a dark, winding staircase, lit only by candle.

00:15:33.280 As Mary described her childhood home,

00:15:36.360 On this spot was built a private house.

00:15:40.080 The front faced a small garden, the gates of which opened to the minister green.

00:15:45.300 The west side was bounded by the cathedral, and the back was supported by ancient cloisters of St. Augustine's Monastery.

00:15:55.260 A spot more calculated to inspire the soul with mournful meditation can scarcely be found, even amidst the monuments of antiquity.

00:16:07.780 Mary's personality perfectly matched her gloomy surroundings.

00:16:12.700 She often described herself as a pensive and broody child, drawn to melodrama and melancholy.

00:16:20.840 Instead of playing with her brothers, Mary preferred to spend time in solitude,

00:16:27.040 often daydreaming or caught in serious contemplation.

00:16:31.300 Because her home was still connected to the cathedral, Mary could hear the church's organ

00:16:37.320 play every morning, and she would often sneak out of her room to listen to the organ play somber

00:16:43.700 notes. As Mary later remembered, I can at this moment still recall to memory the sensations I

00:16:53.100 then experienced, the tones that seemed to thrill through my heart, the longing which I felt to

00:17:00.800 unite my feeble voice to the full anthem, and the awful though sublime impression which the church

00:17:08.620 service never failed to make upon my feelings. As soon as Mary was able to read, she spent her days

00:17:16.960 diving into macabre poetry and memorizing the inscriptions on the tombstones of her local

00:17:23.520 cemetery. By the time she was seven years old, she could recite several different funerary poems by

00:17:31.120 heart. Her education was furthered when she enrolled in a school run by the famed philanthropist

00:17:39.160 and poet Hannah Moore. Here, Mary would have learned French and arithmetic and improved her

00:17:46.000 reading and writing skills. And on one occasion, Moore brought Mary and her fellow students

00:17:52.500 to see a production of Shakespeare's King Lear,

00:17:56.500 which instilled in Mary at a young age her love for the theatre.

00:18:01.740 Because Mary's father was a successful merchant,

00:18:05.140 he was able to supplement her education with private tutors,

00:18:08.780 who taught Mary how to play the harpsichord and piano.

00:18:13.360 He also bought the family a lavish new home,

00:18:16.820 decorated it with expensive furniture,

00:18:19.040 and filled Mary's closets with fashionable dresses.

00:18:23.620 But while it was her father who provided financial security,

00:18:27.900 it was Mary's mother who offered her emotional support.

00:18:31.500 As Mary later remembered,

00:18:34.280 never did I spend a night of separation from the fondest of mothers.

00:18:40.020 In fact, Mary's only criticism of her mother 0.98

00:18:43.060 was that she provided a too tender care 0.99

00:18:46.380 and spoiled her and her brothers.

00:18:49.040 but unfortunately mary's idyllic childhood would come crashing down when she was only nine years

00:18:58.180 old in 1766 mary's father set out to establish a whaling company off the coast of new finland

00:19:07.780 which not only meant he would be away from his family for upwards of two years

00:19:12.940 but that he would pour most of the family's money into his new endeavor

00:19:18.880 Mary's mother was against the idea from the start

00:19:22.160 and adamantly decided to stay in Bristol with Mary and her brothers.

00:19:28.000 Mary would hardly see her father for the next year,

00:19:31.540 save when he returned for a few weeks for the winter holidays.

00:19:36.180 As it turned out, Mary's father's business venture was incredibly risky.

00:19:41.720 Newfoundland had only been under British control for a few years

00:19:46.180 and was under frequent attack by the local indigenous tribes.

00:19:50.960 To make matters worse, he tried to, quote,

00:19:54.580 civilize the Indians to employ them.

00:19:58.060 Not only an offensive, but ultimately unsuccessful endeavor. 0.99

00:20:03.320 Unsurprisingly, just over a year into his time in Newfoundland, 0.68

00:20:07.640 his business was attacked by the local tribe.

00:20:11.280 Not only killing crew members,

00:20:13.000 but burning both his settlement and fleet of ships, resulting in thousands of pounds of damage.

00:20:21.220 If her husband's failed business and resulting debt were not humiliating enough for Mary's mother,

00:20:28.140 she also discovered that while abroad, he had found himself a mistress,

00:20:33.440 and would be living with his mistress upon his return, instead of with their family.

00:20:38.760 and in order to pay off the cost of his business damages,

00:20:43.680 he would have to sell their family home and belongings.

00:20:47.960 Mary and her mother were left with near to nothing to their name

00:20:51.820 and Mary's life, which had once been filled with comforts and luxury,

00:20:57.600 would never be the same.

00:21:00.820 How did Mary feel to find out that her father

00:21:04.860 had not only lost all of their family money,

00:21:08.040 but had abandoned her and her mother for another woman. 0.97

00:21:13.040 That she would have to leave their home and turn over most of their belongings.

00:21:18.920 Was she frightened, humiliated, or filled with rage over her father's reckless behavior?

00:21:27.080 Mary learned at a young age just how fleeting fortune could be,

00:21:32.380 a lesson that prepared her for a lifetime of disappointments,

00:21:37.120 particularly by the men, like her father, who had promised to take care of her.

00:21:48.700 We'll continue our story after a brief word from our advertisers.

00:21:58.000 The war is over and both sides lost.

00:22:02.260 Kingdoms were reduced to cinders, and armies scattered like bones in the dust.

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00:22:58.980 Welcome to the Realms of Peril and Glory.

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00:23:28.980 Welcome back, listeners. Now let's dive back in.

00:23:47.540 Mary's father eventually arranged for Mary and her mother to move into a boarding home in London

00:23:56.060 while he returned to Newfoundland to relaunch his whaling business.

00:24:01.380 Here in London, Mary enrolled in a school run by a woman named Meribah Lorington.

00:24:08.640 Lorington taught an unconventional and forward-thinking curriculum

00:24:13.160 that provided young girls with an education typically reserved for men.

00:24:19.440 Mary would have received lessons in arithmetic, astronomy, and modern languages.

00:24:25.480 And unlike most girls' schools, which focused on preparing young women for marriage,

00:24:31.360 Lorington made sure that her girls understood 0.78

00:24:34.380 that education was for their own personal enjoyment and empowerment.

00:24:40.600 Mary flourished under Lorington's wing,

00:24:43.160 and Lorington particularly encouraged Mary's natural talent for writing.

00:24:49.580 Her time with Lorington would leave an indelible impact on Mary's life

00:24:53.940 and help shape her future career as a writer.

00:24:57.820 As Mary later remarked,

00:25:00.400 All that I ever learned I acquired from this extraordinary woman.

00:25:05.760 I applied rigidly to study and acquired a taste for books,

00:25:10.060 which has never, from this time, deserted me.

00:25:15.100 Quite tragically, Lorington also suffered from severe alcoholism.

00:25:20.840 She once confided in Mary that she drank to quiet her grief over her late husband.

00:25:27.580 But as time went on, her condition worsened, and she even began to drink during school hours.

00:25:34.920 Her abuse of alcohol did eventually lead to the school's closure.

00:25:39.800 Though Mary's time with Lorington was short,

00:25:43.540 she would never forget the invaluable lessons Lorington had taught her,

00:25:48.100 the most important of which was that intelligence could be harnessed as a means of power.

00:25:55.100 Many years later, Mary would discover Lorington living on the streets as a beggar.

00:26:01.760 Lorington would die soon after from the effects of years of untreated alcoholism.

00:26:09.060 Though her father had long since stopped supporting Mary and her mother, he did agree to fund her

00:26:15.860 enrollment at Oxford House, where Mary continued her education. But here, Mary would impress her

00:26:23.480 teachers with more than just her writing skills. One of her governesses discovered Mary's natural 0.95

00:26:30.860 talent as an actress, and began persuading her to audition for the stage. And soon, Mary would

00:26:39.160 catch her big break. It was around this time that Mary was introduced to David Garrick, one of the

00:26:46.760 most famous actors of her day, and the director of Drury Lane, a popular theater in Covent Garden.

00:26:54.720 Though Mary was only 14 years old, it was clear that she was exceptionally beautiful,

00:27:00.860 and it comes with no surprise that Garrick was immediately taken by her.

00:27:06.240 He soon after invited Mary to his home to discuss her training as an actress.

00:27:12.660 How did Mary feel to have caught the attention of the greatest actor of her day,

00:27:19.220 to be offered the opportunity to train with him,

00:27:22.520 and with it, her own chance at becoming a star of the stage?

00:27:26.960 We can only imagine how exhilarated Mary must have been

00:27:31.920 as she entered Garrick's impressive front hall to discuss her potential future.

00:27:39.740 Mary spent the next few weeks training closely with Garrick.

00:27:44.720 He eventually offered her the part of Cordelia in an upcoming production of King Lear.

00:27:51.180 Mary practiced her part for hours at a time, under Garrick's strict scrutiny.

00:27:58.300 As the weeks went on, the public began to take notice of Garrick's beautiful new prodigy,

00:28:04.240 and Mary attracted crowds every time she entered and left the theater.

00:28:09.420 As Mary recalled,

00:28:11.200 I now found myself an object of attention whenever I appeared at the theater.

00:28:17.500 It was buzzed about that I was the juvenile pupil of Garrick.

00:28:22.540 Though overwhelming at first, Mary quickly came to love every minute of the attention.

00:28:29.100 As she geared up for her big debut, she knew in her heart that she belonged on the stage.

00:28:35.060 As she excitedly wrote,

00:28:37.460 The drama, the delightful drama, seemed the very criterion of all human happiness.

00:28:46.800 With her exceptionally good looks and all the buzz surrounding her upcoming performance,

00:28:53.480 Mary soon had a long line of eager admirers, desperate for her attention.

00:28:59.720 One of the most dedicated of her pursuers was a man named Thomas Robinson,

00:29:04.840 a young and pale-skinned clerk who lived across the street from Mary.

00:29:11.000 Mary would often find Robinson sitting at his window,

00:29:15.040 shamelessly staring at Mary as she moved about her house.

00:29:19.580 Although Mary and her mother were cautious of Robinson's stalking,

00:29:23.820 they did eventually agree to join him for dinner.

00:29:27.360 It was over dinner that Robinson shared that he was the nephew of a wealthy tailor,

00:29:32.340 an heir to a large estate in Wales.

00:29:36.420 Though this did little to sway Mary,

00:29:38.820 her mother was immediately impressed.

00:29:41.860 When in the weeks following their dinner,

00:29:44.460 Robinson began showering Mary

00:29:46.360 with a steady flow of expensive gifts,

00:29:49.700 her mother's fondness towards Robinson only grew.

00:29:53.800 As Mary recalled,

00:29:55.900 Robinson became so great a favorite

00:29:58.680 that he seemed to her the most perfect of existing beings.

00:30:04.620 Mary began to feel increasingly pressured to marry Robinson

00:30:08.480 by both Robinson and now also her mother,

00:30:12.300 who was convinced that marrying him would secure Mary's future.

00:30:17.240 When Mary worried that marriage would separate her from her mother,

00:30:21.440 Robinson even agreed to let her mother live with them.

00:30:25.400 Though Robinson was accommodating on this front,

00:30:28.100 he was not so understanding of Mary's dream of becoming an actress,

00:30:33.700 despite her plans to debut in the upcoming season

00:30:36.880 and the attention she was already receiving as Garrick's student. 0.94

00:30:41.720 It soon became clear that if Mary were to marry Robinson, 0.92

00:30:46.280 she would have to give up her future as a woman of the stage.

00:30:50.740 As her mother continued to press her,

00:30:53.480 Mary felt as if she had to choose between fulfilling her life's dream

00:30:58.760 and appeasing her mother's anxieties.

00:31:02.040 As Mary remembered,

00:31:04.400 It was now Mr. Robinson and my mother united in persuading me

00:31:09.580 to relinquish my project,

00:31:11.900 and so perpetually during these days was I tormented on the subject

00:31:16.600 that I consented and was married.

00:31:20.780 In the end, Mary decided it was best to concede to her mother's wishes.

00:31:26.660 As Mary explained,

00:31:28.200 The only circumstance which induced me to marry

00:31:31.900 was that of still being permitted to reside with my mother.

00:31:37.360 Mary's marriage to Thomas Robinson took place on April 12, 1773.

00:31:44.820 Mary was only 15 years old.

00:31:48.440 In fact, she was so young that the officiate admitted he had never before married so young a bride.

00:31:56.820 Though her wedding day should have been a joyous moment,

00:32:01.080 all Mary could think about was her lost dream of becoming an actress.

00:32:06.300 As author Paula Byrne wrote,

00:32:09.520 her thoughts wandered to the theatrical career that she was sacrificing,

00:32:14.140 to the glimmer of fame and the lost opportunity of an independent livelihood.

00:32:21.600 Mary could barely get through the ceremony before she ran out of the church sobbing.

00:32:27.680 Though it was too late to change her mind, Mary feared that she had just made a grave mistake.

00:32:36.280 Unfortunately, Mary's fears were soon realized.

00:32:40.880 Robinson, who was so insistent upon their marriage,

00:32:44.880 asked that Mary keep their marriage a secret,

00:32:48.820 a request that Mary and her mother found bizarre.

00:32:52.860 Even more suspect was his refusal to introduce Mary to any of his family,

00:32:58.860 including his wealthy uncle, whose estate he claimed to be heir to.

00:33:04.180 As the months went on, Mary and her mother still lived separately from Robinson,

00:33:09.380 who only visited on occasion.

00:33:13.000 Mary became increasingly anxious over Robinson's unusual behavior.

00:33:18.680 She couldn't understand why Robinson suddenly tried to pretend like she didn't exist.

00:33:25.780 Much to Mary and her mother's dismay,

00:33:28.940 it soon became clear that Robinson had completely deceived them.

00:33:33.740 They were shocked to find out that Robinson was not the nephew of his Welsh uncle,

00:33:40.620 but his illegitimate son, who had no rights to the estate.

00:33:45.800 To make matters worse, Robinson had also been hiding a destructive gambling habit

00:33:51.820 and had wasted away the little money he had.

00:33:56.260 How did Mary feel to discover her husband was a fraud?

00:34:00.440 that she had given up her bright future for false promises.

00:34:06.620 Was she furious over his deceptive manipulation of her?

00:34:11.380 As Mary lamented in a letter to a friend, 1.00

00:34:15.000 How can I love that stupid thing, Robinson? 1.00

00:34:18.760 Yet I am his. 1.00

00:34:20.700 Fortune has made it so.

00:34:23.760 But I cannot think I am bound to abide strictly

00:34:27.120 by an engagement that I was trepanned into, for you know he deceived me.

00:34:34.460 After many exasperated pleas, Robinson finally agreed to take Mary to Wales

00:34:41.120 to meet his quote-unquote uncle, who he still refused to admit was actually his father.

00:34:48.860 Meeting his family would in the very least legitimize their marriage

00:34:53.200 and make Mary feel like less of a dirty secret.

00:34:57.120 When Robinson and Mary first arrived at the Welsh estate, his father almost turned them away.

00:35:04.840 But luckily for Robinson, his father quickly became charmed by Mary's good looks and ushered

00:35:11.420 them inside. Despite Robinson having no rights to the estate, his father began to promise Mary

00:35:19.220 that he would leave her anything she liked. As Mary wrote in her memoirs,

00:35:24.560 He should have liked me for a wife had I not married Tom.

00:35:29.840 Though Mary still felt duped by Robinson, her trip to Wales did make her a little more hopeful

00:35:36.060 for their future. At least his family knew Mary existed, and more than that, she was in their good

00:35:43.640 graces. Upon returning to London, Mary and Robinson finally moved into a new home together

00:35:51.720 in the east end of London.

00:35:54.640 With his father's new promise to leave him and Mary his fortunes,

00:35:59.140 Robinson began to spend recklessly,

00:36:02.180 furnishing their home with fancy furniture

00:36:04.600 and buying Mary stylish new outfits. 0.95

00:36:08.720 Mary took the opportunity to make a splash in London social scene. 0.58

00:36:13.520 As author Paula Byrne described,

00:36:16.160 Mary may have lost her chance to perform on Drury Lane,

00:36:20.180 but she saw the metropolis as a great urban stage where she could still be a star.

00:36:28.480 Mary's impeccable looks and flirtatious charm left an impression on everyone she met,

00:36:34.640 and she soon befriended many important society men, politicians, and aristocrats.

00:36:41.300 As Mary wrote,

00:36:42.420 I was now known by name at every public place in and near the metropolis.

00:36:50.920 Unfortunately, their new luxurious lifestyle did not fix Mary's rocky marriage.

00:36:58.140 While Mary was mingling with London's most impressive crowds,

00:37:02.500 Robinson fell back into bad habits,

00:37:05.740 gambling recklessly, drinking heavily, and indulging in his wandering eye.

00:37:12.060 Though at first Mary tolerated Robinson's antics,

00:37:15.560 enjoying the freedom she had to socialize with London's elite,

00:37:20.180 In the summer of 1744, she discovered she was pregnant with their first child.

00:37:27.300 Mary hoped that upon hearing the news, Robinson would stop his destructive behavior.

00:37:33.460 But he only doubled down on his reckless ways.

00:37:37.460 Mary became increasingly frustrated that while she was home pregnant with their child,

00:37:43.460 Robinson was out drinking himself into a stupor, barely even spending any time with her.

00:37:50.200 To make matters worse, talk around town was that Robinson had found himself an official mistress,

00:37:56.740 an older woman who he had even given a promise ring to.

00:38:01.800 And to add insult to injury, it became clear that Robinson had landed them in significant debt,

00:38:09.000 spending well beyond their means and gambling away what little was left.

00:38:14.680 He was forced to borrow funds from loan sharks to keep creditors away,

00:38:19.380 But this proved to be only a temporary solution.

00:38:23.660 As Mary entered the final stretch of her pregnancy,

00:38:27.440 creditors foreclosed on their home,

00:38:29.600 and Mary and Robinson were forced to evacuate.

00:38:34.320 In a last-ditch effort to help their desperate situation,

00:38:38.280 Robinson convinced Mary to travel with him to Wales

00:38:41.680 to beg his father to bail them out,

00:38:44.920 despite her being weeks away from giving birth.

00:38:48.700 Unfortunately, after a long and tiring journey, Robinson's father turned them away,

00:38:55.560 no longer showing the now-pregnant Mary the affection he had previously.

00:39:01.820 Mary, too pregnant to return to London, rode out the final weeks of her pregnancy in a boarding

00:39:09.000 house in Wales, where she at least enjoyed the quietude of nature. It was here on October 18th,

00:39:17.500 1774, where Mary gave birth to a healthy baby girl, whom she named Maria Elizabeth.

00:39:26.040 Mary was only 17 years old at the time of her daughter's birth. As soon as her baby left her 0.60

00:39:32.800 womb, Mary felt an overwhelming and all-encompassing love for her daughter. Though she was so young

00:39:40.440 and had no idea how to care for a baby, she promised her daughter that she would be as

00:39:46.580 devoted a mother as possible, a promise Mary certainly kept throughout her life. Though most

00:39:53.300 women of the aristocracy hired wet nurses to breastfeed their babies, Mary decided that she 1.00

00:39:59.400 would breastfeed her daughter herself. She also slept in the same bed as little Maria Elizabeth, 0.90

00:40:06.040 something that mothers of her time rarely allowed. Unfortunately, Mary could not enjoy the bliss of

00:40:13.600 early motherhood for Long. Just three weeks after Maria Elizabeth was born, creditors were back on

00:40:22.060 Robinson's tail and discovered that he and Mary had fled to Wales. Not before Long, Robinson was

00:40:29.900 arrested, and he, Mary, and little Maria Elizabeth were escorted all the way back to London by a

00:40:37.360 sheriff. Upon their return, Robinson was committed to a debtor's prison called the Fleet, where over

00:40:45.100 300 prisoners and their families lived in confined quarters. Though technically it was not required

00:40:52.740 that the wives of prisoners join their husbands in the Fleet, most wives did so because they did

00:40:59.320 not have anywhere else to go. Unfortunately, Mary fell in this camp, and she and little Maria

00:41:07.020 Elizabeth moved to the fleet with Robinson in May of 1775. Famously filthy, with streets filled with

00:41:16.360 blood and urine, and conditions prime for the rapid spread of disease, the fleet was no place

00:41:23.340 for a young woman, let alone a newborn child. Mary knew she had to do all she could to keep her and

00:41:31.620 her daughter safe and earn their way out of prison as soon as possible. Robinson, on the other hand,

00:41:39.260 continued to drink senselessly and sleep with prostitutes. When he was offered a job as a 0.98

00:41:45.200 copywriter and refused, Mary accepted on his behalf, not only caring for their newborn,

00:41:51.660 but working as the family's sole breadwinner. Quite remarkably, copywriting was not the only

00:41:58.760 writing that Mary did during this time. It was during her months in the fleet that Mary's career

00:42:05.080 as a poet first began. Though at first Mary started writing poetry to help pass the time,

00:42:13.340 she soon discovered that she could publish her poems for money. Over the course of the next few

00:42:19.700 months, Mary wrote an entire collection of 32 poems, totaling over 130 pages of writing.

00:42:28.760 We get a sense of Mary's skill as a poet, as well as her use of poetry to process her

00:42:35.480 heavy emotions during this time, in a poem titled Captivity.

00:42:41.100 As Mary wrote,

00:42:42.260 The greedy creditor, whose flinty breast, the iron hand of avarice hath pressed.

00:42:50.680 Whoever owed humanity's soft claim, self-interest and revenge his own aim.

00:42:56.780 unmoved can hear the parents heartfelt sigh unmoved can hear the helpless infants cry

00:43:05.240 nor age nor sex his rigid breast can melt unfeeling for the pangs he never felt

00:43:13.600 despite being in prison mary was able to win the backing of a publisher named c parker who was so

00:43:22.160 impressed with Mary's poems that he agreed to publish her collection in the summer of 1775.

00:43:30.300 Mary was only 17 years old when she first became a published author. How did Mary feel to publish

00:43:38.860 her first collection of poems? Not only at such a young age, but while she still lived within the

00:43:46.180 confines of a debtor's prison. Did she pinch herself upon hearing the news? How did she

00:43:52.980 celebrate such a remarkable accomplishment? We can only imagine how proud Mary must have been

00:43:59.960 that she had turned the most devastating of circumstances into her greatest achievement.

00:44:06.980 Finally, on August 3rd of 1776, thanks to her hard work and undeterred determination,

00:44:15.500 Mary earned enough money for her family to be released from the fleet.

00:44:20.440 But though Mary was relieved that she and her daughter

00:44:23.620 would no longer have to live within prison walls,

00:44:27.060 she knew that she could not rely on Robinson

00:44:29.840 to keep their debt from quickly accumulating again.

00:44:34.860 Mary would have to find a way to support herself

00:44:37.580 without the help of her husband.

00:44:40.740 Though her poetry had made some money,

00:44:43.380 Mary decided to turn to her other artistic talent to now make a living, acting.

00:44:51.740 Ironically, her grave situation was Mary's golden ticket back to the stage.

00:44:58.080 With their finances still dire and Robinson deep in the throes of a gambling addiction,

00:45:04.360 he no longer had the grounds to prohibit Mary from becoming an actress.

00:45:10.100 Through her connections, Mary was soon after introduced to the famed playwright Richard Sheraton,

00:45:16.800 who had recently taken over Drury Lane after Garrick retired.

00:45:22.180 Like Garrick, Sheraton was immediately taken by Mary and offered her the role of Juliet

00:45:27.980 in an upcoming run of Shakespeare's famous tragic love story.

00:45:32.960 Though so much had happened since she first dreamed of becoming an actress,

00:45:38.760 She had gotten married, become a mother, spent over a year in a debtor's prison,

00:45:45.160 and published her first book of poetry.

00:45:48.720 Mary finally had the opportunity to become a star of the stage,

00:45:53.860 and this time, no one could stop her.

00:45:57.620 Mary made her debut as Juliet on December 10, 1776.

00:46:03.620 On opening night, the theater was filled to capacity, and the crowd was anxious to see Drury Lane's newest star.

00:46:13.900 Though Mary had dreamed of this moment for years, as she prepared to step onto the stage, she became overwhelmed with fear.

00:46:23.580 She knew that this performance could make or break her chance of success.

00:46:28.220 As Mary later remembered, the theater was crowded with fashionable spectators.

00:46:35.560 The green room and orchestra were thronged with critics.

00:46:39.880 When I approached the sidewalk, my heart throbbed convulsively.

00:46:44.800 I then began to fear that my resolution would fail, almost fainting.

00:46:50.680 But to Mary's pleasant surprise, the crowd instantly began to applaud her as she made her way to the stage.

00:46:59.140 Before Mary even recited her first line, the crowd roared with cheers.

00:47:05.260 As Mary continued in her memoirs,

00:47:07.860 The thundering applause that greeted me nearly overpowered all of my faculties.

00:47:13.940 I stood, mute, and bending with alarm, which did not subside until I had feebly articulated

00:47:21.760 the few sentences of the first short scene, during the whole time of which I never once

00:47:28.060 ventured to look at the audience. I beheld a gradual ascent of heads. All eyes were fixed

00:47:35.420 upon me, and the sensation they conveyed was awfully impressive. If the crowd's roaring

00:47:42.900 applause were any indication, Mary's first performance received raving reviews, not only

00:47:50.260 from the audience, but also from the press. As a review in the general advertiser wrote,

00:47:57.520 there has not been a lady on this or any other stage for some seasons who promises to make so

00:48:04.820 capital an actress. She has eloquence and beauty. The grace of her arms is singular. 0.89

00:48:12.580 We may venture to pronounce her an acquisition and an ornament. And the Morning Post wrote,

00:48:20.600 a lady whose name is Robinson made her first appearance last night at this theater in the

00:48:26.940 character of Juliet. Her person is genteel, her voice harmonious, and her features, when properly

00:48:35.300 animated, are striking and expressive. At present, she discovers a theatrical genius in the rough.

00:48:44.200 We will be able to speak of her powers at large when we find her become a little more familiar

00:48:50.200 with the stage. And Mary certainly became more familiar with the stage. Over the course of the

00:48:59.240 next few months, Mary not only played Juliet, but also Viola in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night,

00:49:06.600 Ophelia from Hamlet, and Lady Macbeth, among other iconic characters. The various parts Mary played

00:49:14.900 showed her versatile skill as a performer,

00:49:18.480 able to act out both comedic and tragic roles

00:49:21.720 with equal success.

00:49:24.100 Fun fact, it was during these performances

00:49:27.300 that a young Emma Hamilton

00:49:29.540 worked as a costume assistant,

00:49:32.640 dressing Mary for her different parts.

00:49:35.520 If you have not yet listened to our episode

00:49:37.920 on Emma Hamilton,

00:49:39.640 I encourage you to listen as an accompanying episode. 0.77

00:49:44.200 As Mary performed more and more, her popularity only grew, as did her paycheck.

00:49:51.800 Sheridan was so happy with Mary's success as an actress that he paid her £10 per performance,

00:49:58.900 a hefty rate reserved only for the biggest stars of the stage.

00:50:04.600 With this, Mary was not only able to support her and her daughter and keep debtors at bay,

00:50:10.440 But for the first time in her life, she had gained financial freedom and self-autonomy.

00:50:18.000 She was able to buy herself fashionable clothes and a new home for her and her daughter in Covent Garden, just a stone's throw away from Drury Lane.

00:50:29.040 She mingled with high society, making powerful connections with London's elite, and reveled in her immense popularity with the public.

00:50:39.020 As Mary wrote,

00:50:40.100 I looked forward with delight to both the celebrity and fortune.

00:50:46.440 It should be noted that Mary did receive some judgment from high society,

00:50:51.560 who regarded acting as a lower class profession,

00:50:55.200 and actresses in particular, as loose and not to be trusted.

00:51:00.400 Mary often wrote in defense of acting,

00:51:03.260 maintaining that it was a profession of integrity.

00:51:06.620 In Mary's own words,

00:51:08.920 We have many females on the stage who are ornaments to society, in every respect worthy of imitation. 0.97

00:51:18.100 For my part, I adore the theatre, and think there is more morality to be found in one good tragedy than in all the sermons that were ever printed. 0.97

00:51:28.220 With regard to acting, it is an act which demands no small portion of intellectual acquirements.

00:51:37.160 It polishes the manners, enlightens the understanding, gives a finish to external grace, and calls forth all the powers of mental superiority.

00:51:48.760 And quite remarkably, even at the height of her acting career, Mary still made time for her writing.

00:51:56.680 opting out of touring around England so she could work on her poetry.

00:52:01.960 It was during her first two years as an actress

00:52:04.600 that Mary was able to publish a second volume of poems.

00:52:10.060 Despite her overwhelming success as both an actress and poet,

00:52:15.240 Mary's marriage, unfortunately, only continued to deteriorate.

00:52:19.760 Their relationship became even more strained

00:52:23.040 when Mary became pregnant in late 1776.

00:52:27.740 Though she gave birth to a healthy baby girl the following May,

00:52:31.840 her daughter suffered from convulsions

00:52:34.100 and passed away at only six months old.

00:52:38.380 Instead of extending support,

00:52:40.660 Robinson continued to drink excessively

00:52:43.240 and made frequent visits to brothels.

00:52:46.940 Mary had to grieve the loss of her second daughter 0.98

00:52:49.920 completely alone.

00:52:53.040 But though Robinson treated Mary with almost total neglect, 0.64

00:52:57.200 she did grab the attention of plenty of aristocrats

00:53:00.660 who bribed her with money to become their mistress.

00:53:04.700 In fact, the Duke of Rutland offered her as much as 600 pounds a year

00:53:09.880 to take her under his wing.

00:53:12.560 With her marriage hanging on by a thread,

00:53:15.520 these offers were surely tempting.

00:53:18.240 Luckily, Mary had Sheridan to guide her against these men's advances.

00:53:23.040 As Mary later admitted,

00:53:25.400 I had been seen and known at all public places from the age of 15,

00:53:31.500 yet I knew as little of the world's deceptions as though I had been educated in the deserts of Siberia.

00:53:39.180 I believed every woman friendly and every man sincere,

00:53:44.100 till I discovered proof that their characters were deceptive.

00:53:48.860 But Sheridan could only guide Mary so much.

00:53:53.040 Just around the corner, Mary would meet the man who would completely sweep her off her feet

00:53:59.200 and forever change the course of her life.

00:54:08.100 We'll continue our story after a brief word from our advertisers.

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00:55:21.600 Oh, please, not that music.

00:55:28.260 That music gives me nightmares from my childhood.

00:55:30.640 Could we get something a little bit lighter,

00:55:32.400 some lighter music here?

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00:56:15.620 So come and join us wherever you listen to your podcasts. 0.80

00:56:19.780 welcome back listeners now let's dive back in on december 3rd 1779 mary was performing

00:56:42.280 in shakespeare's the winter tale as the female lead perdita on that particular night the theater

00:56:49.740 was filled to capacity, and in its audience was the royal family, including the then 17-year-old

00:56:57.020 Prince of Wales, George. The prince was known to be particularly handsome, with equal charm and

00:57:04.180 wits to match. As a contemporary of his described, his countenance was of a sweetness and intelligence

00:57:12.440 quite irresistible. He was an elegant person, with engaging and distinguished manners,

00:57:19.440 added to an affectionate disposition and a cheerfulness of youth. As Mary entered the

00:57:26.040 stage that night, she noticed the royal family in their private box, and the prince in particular,

00:57:32.760 staring at her with bulging eyes. Despite the fact that Mary was in the midst of performing,

00:57:39.040 The prince couldn't help himself but whisper words of flattery to her.

00:57:44.800 Mary tried her best to get through the performance without distraction,

00:57:49.400 but she grew increasingly aware of the prince's attention.

00:57:53.980 As the play ended and she gave her customary curtsy,

00:57:58.060 she finally allowed herself to look up and meet the prince's stare.

00:58:02.860 As Mary described,

00:58:04.600 The prince had a look I shall never forget.

00:58:09.020 He gently inclined his head a second time.

00:58:12.640 I felt the compliment and blushed my gratitude.

00:58:17.340 Before the night had even ended, the prince had fallen madly in love with Mary,

00:58:23.120 and he would do all he could to call her his own.

00:58:27.700 The next morning the prince excitedly wrote to his friend,

00:58:31.540 I was delighted at the play last night and was particularly interested in the appearance of the

00:58:38.480 most beautiful woman that ever I beheld, who acted with such delicacy that she drew tears from my

00:58:46.400 eyes. She perceived how much of my attention was taken up with her, not only during her acting,

00:58:54.000 but when she was behind the scenes and contrived every little innocent art to captivate a heart.

00:59:00.580 Her name is Robinson. On or off the stage, I have seen her both.

00:59:06.780 She is, I believe, the greatest and most perfect beauty of her sex.

00:59:12.800 And in another letter, written shortly after, the prince declared,

00:59:17.820 Heavens was you but to see her. Even the most envious of her sex was to see her.

00:59:24.160 They must confess that she is the most perfect beauty that ever was seen.

00:59:30.580 Despite Mary still being legally married, and that she was clearly socially beneath the royal family,

00:59:38.180 the prince began to pursue Mary with persistent determination.

00:59:43.260 Shortly after attending the theatre, the prince showered Mary with love letters, addressing each one to his Perdita.

00:59:51.880 How did Mary feel to have the Prince of Wales, heir to the throne of England, profess his feelings for her with such ardor?

01:00:01.900 To know that she was the sole object of his desire, the one that he doted upon, as if she were a princess herself.

01:00:11.780 As Mary once described of the Prince's love letters,

01:00:15.380 The prince continued to write to Mary over the course of the next few months,

01:00:32.460 his letters becoming increasingly more forthcoming about his desire to become her lover.

01:00:39.680 Despite being both infatuated and excited by the prince and his proposition,

01:00:45.100 Mary played hard to get, keeping her responses cordial, cool, and non-committal.

01:00:51.560 She reiterated to the prince that she was a married woman,

01:00:55.600 and that their involvement could put his reputation as heir to the throne at stake.

01:01:01.960 And as Mary politely deflected the prince's continued love professions, 0.96

01:01:06.620 her fame as an actress only soared to new heights.

01:01:11.800 The prince could often be seen sitting in attendance,

01:01:15.520 gawking at Mary's beauty and desperately seeking her attention.

01:01:20.660 Soon enough, the prince's fixation on Mary became the talk of London,

01:01:26.160 much to the dismay of the royal family,

01:01:28.540 who did not approve of the prince setting his eyes on someone of Mary's class.

01:01:34.520 though mary turned down the prince's repeated pleas to become lovers

01:01:41.260 he eventually made her an offer that she couldn't refuse in exchange for becoming his mistress the

01:01:49.480 prince offered mary 20 000 pounds equivalent to over a million dollars today the only caveat was

01:01:58.680 that Mary would have to give up her acting career, which the prince felt was below her.

01:02:05.640 Mary had not only become one of London's leading actresses by this time, but she was earning a

01:02:12.020 hefty salary. The prince, however, assured her that his financial support would more than

01:02:18.260 compensate for the loss she'd take in income. Understandably, Mary was reluctant to once again

01:02:25.460 have to give up her career as an actress for a man. Not only was she finally financially secure,

01:02:32.920 but she genuinely loved performing and would miss the thrill she felt every time she stepped

01:02:40.220 onto the stage. But despite her reservations, Mary did eventually agree to the prince's conditions,

01:02:48.640 swayed by his, in Mary's own words, sweet smile and melodious yet manly voice.

01:02:56.020 That spring, Mary gave her last performance.

01:03:01.080 How did Mary feel to take her final curtsy in front of a roaring crowd?

01:03:06.420 The last time she would feel the audience's applause buzz through her entire body.

01:03:12.980 Was she devastated to have to say goodbye to the stage she knew so well that it felt like home?

01:03:20.320 angered that yet another man was forcing her to leave her acting career behind?

01:03:26.880 Or was she filled with peace, ready to leave the stage for a better life ahead?

01:03:33.040 As Mary later recalled of this moment,

01:03:36.460 that I was treading, for the last time,

01:03:40.040 the boards where I had so often received the most gratifying testimonies of public approbation,

01:03:47.040 where mental exertion had been emboldened by private worth,

01:03:52.360 that I was flying from a happy certainty,

01:03:55.720 perhaps to pursue the phantom disappointment,

01:03:59.500 nearly overwhelmed my faculties.

01:04:03.480 Soon after Mary's final bow,

01:04:06.560 she and the prince officially began their affair.

01:04:10.080 To commemorate the start of their relationship,

01:04:13.080 the prince gifted Mary a miniature portrait of himself as a token of his love and devotion for

01:04:20.300 her. As Mary fondly remembered of these early days, the prince's attachment seemed to increase

01:04:28.100 daily, and I considered myself as the most blessed of human beings. By that July, the public had caught

01:04:36.100 onto their relationship, and soon every tabloid in London followed their every move. Though Mary

01:04:43.560 had already garnered fame as a star of the stage, her public affair with the prince quickly turned

01:04:50.040 her into a full-fudge social celebrity. Her presence at any event became a spectacle,

01:04:57.340 and crowds swarmed to gawk at her, whether in awe or disgust. As Mary herself described,

01:05:05.080 I was overwhelmed by the gazing of the multitude.

01:05:10.400 There were many who admired Mary for winning the prince's affections.

01:05:15.220 Others called her public infidelity shameless.

01:05:19.260 To be fair, Robinson did not seem bothered by Mary's fling with the prince.

01:05:24.640 The only time Mary ever heard from him was to occasionally ask her for money.

01:05:30.200 For the prince's part, he showed no hesitation in being seen in public with Mary,

01:05:36.120 and he even brought her to royal family gatherings at Windsor.

01:05:41.460 He bought Mary her own home in an expensive area in London

01:05:45.420 and furnished it with lavish fittings and decor.

01:05:49.540 He made sure that Mary's closets were filled with dresses in the latest fashion,

01:05:54.800 and he even gave her access to the royal box at the Opera House,

01:05:59.100 an almost unheard-of privilege for someone of Mary's class.

01:06:04.480 Though she had to give up her career as an actress,

01:06:07.820 Mary enjoyed every minute of the attention she was getting,

01:06:11.560 both from the public and most of all from the prince himself.

01:06:15.860 In fact, she gleefully admitted to her close friends

01:06:19.260 that the prince made her feel like the luckiest woman in the world.

01:06:24.880 Though Mary's romance with the prince

01:06:27.280 must have felt like a chapter from a storybook.

01:06:30.600 Unfortunately, Mary did not get her fairy tale ending.

01:06:35.240 Despite the prince being absolutely smitten with Mary,

01:06:39.420 their relationship was a great concern to the monarchy,

01:06:43.100 and the king in particular was appalled

01:06:45.680 that his son was so publicly involved

01:06:48.060 with a woman of Mary's class,

01:06:50.740 let alone that she was a married woman.

01:06:53.640 He repeatedly pleaded with his son to stop seeing Mary, to no avail.

01:06:59.420 But eventually, knowing that the prince was nearing the age of being formally named the heir to his throne,

01:07:06.400 the king threatened the prince that he would not be named until he ended his relationship with Mary.

01:07:13.380 If he did break things off, he also bribed the prince with additional inheritance.

01:07:19.140 Though the prince harbored real feelings for Mary,

01:07:21.920 the king was eventually able to persuade him to stop seeing her.

01:07:27.740 Mary was caught completely off guard when she received a note from the prince stating,

01:07:33.640 We must meet no more.

01:07:35.720 The prince offered Mary no explanation or additional context,

01:07:40.260 and she was left completely baffled.

01:07:43.180 Just a few days prior, the prince had expressed his utmost affection for her.

01:07:48.260 Why would the prince suddenly not want to see her anymore?

01:07:52.380 What about his endless confessions of love and acts of adoration?

01:07:57.140 And what about the promise he had made to Mary that he would take care of her?

01:08:02.860 Mary quickly wrote back demanding an explanation for the prince's sudden dismissal of her,

01:08:08.580 but she never received a response.

01:08:12.100 Desperate to understand, Mary even stormed into Windsor and pleaded to speak with the prince.

01:08:18.260 but she was cruelly turned away. Within the blink of an eye, Mary had gone from feeling

01:08:24.720 like she was on top of the world to feeling like a piece of discarded trash.

01:08:31.520 If the prince's unexplainable rejection was not torturous enough, the press soon got word of

01:08:38.560 their breakup. Mary, who had been covered in every paper as London's hottest it girl,

01:08:44.420 suddenly became the subject of a smear campaign. 0.85

01:08:48.740 Humiliating caricatures of Mary were published daily,

01:08:52.440 often over-sexualizing her and debasing her integrity.

01:08:56.860 The press's harassment of her got so severe

01:08:59.740 that Mary nearly suffered a nervous breakdown.

01:09:03.800 One friend of Mary's was so concerned for her well-being

01:09:07.340 that she threatened the Morning Post

01:09:09.500 that if one more libelous article was written about Mary,

01:09:13.240 that they would have her blood to answer for.

01:09:17.060 And if the situation could not get any worse,

01:09:20.140 Mary soon learned that the prince

01:09:21.940 had found himself a new mistress,

01:09:24.160 a courtesan named Elizabeth Armistead.

01:09:28.260 While Mary was being dragged through the mud by the press,

01:09:31.760 the prince had already moved on.

01:09:34.640 And unfortunately,

01:09:36.200 with the prince's sudden abandonment of Mary

01:09:38.700 came the sudden retraction of his financial support.

01:09:43.020 Mary was now not only dealing with a broken heart and constant harassment from the press,

01:09:48.560 but was quickly falling into debt, trying to maintain the home and lifestyle the prince had established her in.

01:09:56.500 And because the prince had persuaded her to retire as an actress,

01:10:01.080 she now had no source of income to support herself.

01:10:05.140 As Mary lamented,

01:10:07.320 I had quitted both my husband and my profession for the prince.

01:10:12.840 Though she had worked so hard to get her family out of debtor's prison,

01:10:17.860 Mary once again had creditors breathing down her throat.

01:10:22.060 Some even asked her for sexual favors in exchange for debt relief.

01:10:26.880 Her situation quickly became desperate, owing over 7,000 pounds, amounting to a quarter million dollars today.

01:10:36.880 And to rub salt in her wound, as she fell deeper and deeper into debt,

01:10:42.020 Mary heard the news that the prince had officially been named heir to the throne,

01:10:46.940 only increasing both his political power and wealth.

01:10:52.120 Mary could no longer afford to roll over and die while the prince ascended to power.

01:10:58.780 Before they began their relationship, he had promised to pay her £20,000 as compensation

01:11:05.100 for giving up her acting career, and if he wasn't going to take her back,

01:11:10.360 he should at the very least honor their agreement.

01:11:13.920 At first, Mary approached the subject kindly,

01:11:17.280 gently reminding the prince of his promise and asking that he follow through.

01:11:21.980 But when the prince coldly refused, Mary was forced to take more drastic measures.

01:11:28.340 Knowing that the only real leverage Mary had over the prince

01:11:31.800 were the hundreds of love letters he had sent her

01:11:34.400 over the course of their relationship,

01:11:36.840 Mary threatened to leak these letters to the press

01:11:39.480 if the prince did not honor their agreement.

01:11:42.940 The letters that had once filled Mary's body with joy

01:11:46.660 had now become, in the words of author Paula Byrne,

01:11:50.940 her most dangerous weapon.

01:11:53.620 When the prince brushed off Mary's threats,

01:11:56.300 she went as far as to rent a house in Old Windsor,

01:11:59.380 just steps away from the prince's residence so that he was constantly reminded that she could

01:12:05.400 publish the letters at any time she wished. Eventually, the prince sent a representative

01:12:11.640 to talk to Mary, and she let him know that she would return these letters to the prince

01:12:16.580 as soon as he paid what was owed. She reiterated that she had been a highly successful and well

01:12:23.540 paid actress, and had given up her career at the behest of the prince. After some back and forth,

01:12:30.720 the prince offered to pay Mary 5,000 pounds, a small fraction of his initial promise.

01:12:37.520 Mary was instantly offended. The payment would barely even cover her outstanding debts,

01:12:43.800 debts which had accumulated in the first place due to his repeated promises that he would always

01:12:49.620 take care of her. To respond, Mary hired her own representative, who wrote on Mary's behalf,

01:12:57.500 the idea of falling from a state of splendor and independence to a level that must at least

01:13:03.940 be degrading to her impresses her with feelings that are hard to be foregone.

01:13:10.240 When the prince once again refused to give her more than 5,000 pounds,

01:13:15.060 Mary took it upon herself to respond to the prince directly.

01:13:19.500 In an exasperated letter to the prince, Mary exclaimed,

01:13:24.220 No earthly power will make me ever receive the smallest support from you.

01:13:29.780 I hope you have every degree of satisfaction in your own mind

01:13:33.820 when you reflect on how you have treated me.

01:13:36.860 I have nothing further to say.

01:13:40.060 And in a separate letter to a friend, Mary lamented,

01:13:43.760 I, who sacrificed reputation, an advantageous profession, friends, patronage, the brilliant hours of youth, and the conscious delight of correct conduct, am condemned to the scanty pittance bestowed on every indifferent page of his letters, which holds up his ermined train of ceremony.

01:14:06.120 In the end, Mary had no choice but to accept the prince's insultingly low offer in exchange for

01:14:15.040 his love letters. With her accumulating debt and no real further recourse she could take,

01:14:21.700 Mary was forced to relent. Instead, she channeled her frustrations into a poem written around this

01:14:28.740 time. As the poem reads, if once betrayed, I scarce forgive. And though I pity all that live

01:14:37.880 and mourn for every pain, never could I court the great or worship fools, whatever their state 0.93

01:14:45.500 for falsehood, I disdain. Though Mary had to concede for now, she made a promise to herself

01:14:54.120 to continue to fight for the money she was rightfully owed

01:14:57.600 and to enact her revenge in any way she could.

01:15:02.260 And that approaching season,

01:15:04.180 her revenge would come in the form of four portraits

01:15:07.720 painted by London's leading portraitists

01:15:10.740 and which would be displayed in public

01:15:13.060 at the upcoming Royal Academy exhibition.

01:15:16.820 If Mary could not win the prince back

01:15:19.660 nor receive the money she deserved, 0.98

01:15:22.300 then she'd make sure that her portraits hung as a reminder of both her unrivaled beauty and 0.79

01:15:29.400 unbreakable strength, and that the prince would look a fool forever letting such a marvelous woman 0.97

01:15:37.300 go. I hope you enjoyed part one of our two-part episode on Mary Robinson. We will take a look

01:15:48.660 at these wonderful portraits and finish Mary's story, honoring her immense legacy in part two

01:15:55.580 of this episode. I have included images, resources, and suggestions for further reading

01:16:02.100 on the Art Muse website and Instagram. Art Muse is produced by Kula Production Company.

01:16:09.660 Today's episode was written by me, your host, Grace Anna. Stay tuned as I continue to share

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Vulgar History - May 15, 2026

ArtMuse： Mary Robinson, part one

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