Tuesday, December 9, 2008

On the Ninth Day of Christmas Perdita Gave to Me

Nine pretty poems...

Perdita aka Mary Robinson is best known for her appearances on stage and her affair with the young(er) Prince of Wales. Strangely enough, both these endeavors were short-lived. In fact, Mary preferred to be recognized for her literary achievements and not her acting abilities. Mary was writing poetry before she ever set foot on stage. Her poems brought her relief while she was living in Fleet Prison with her husband who was imprisoned for debt. Her first patroness in these early years was none other than Georgiana, herself. I have to say, this is probably my favourite of the the ornaments!

12 comments:

  1. Wow, shes pretty, I'm surprised I don't remember her. Well, I looked her up, and how cool is she! Love those tarts with brains.

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  2. i didnt know she wrote poetry!!

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  3. Perdita! Always my favorite tart--lol, she was my first :p

    Have I mentioned yet how jealous I am of those ornaments? Because I am....

    Oh, I'm sending out holiday cards, if you want to email me your contact info...? The post I made about it on LJ is privacy locked.

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  4. i wish i had a hat like that...

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  5. Perdita is one of my favorites. Now there's a good subject for a mini-series. She had connections to many different circles (however briefly) and so much variety in her experiences. (Such highs, such lows.) I'm pleased she has the honor of her own tart heart.

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  6. Perdita! I still haven't gotten around to reading the bio on her yet...maybe over the holidays..

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  7. It's a long one to get through. I was wondering why it took me so long to read it until I noticed recently how small the print is!

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  8. This is my favourite. If you have access to ECCO you can read some of her poetry online.

    "Reynolds, 'tis thine with magic skill to trace / The perfect semblance of exterior grace; / Thy hand, by Nature guided, marks the line / That stamps perfection on the form divine."

    From her "Address to Sir Joshua Reynolds" in _The Beauties of Mrs. Robinson. Selected and arranged from her poetical works_ (1791).

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  9. Ooh, she's my favorite! I love a literary tart :) And her hat is to die for. Where can I find one of those?! ;)

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  10. I feel your pain Lady Byron, I had to go out and make my Picture Hat myself since I wanted one so badly! It is beyond fabulous isn't it?

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  11. Mary did NOT want to give up the stage! She rather "had" to after her scandal with the Prince, as the public's hypocricy extended far enough to insisting she keep out of the public eye as a "soiled" woman. But it didn't take her long to become the mistress of a long line of men, most prominently Banastre Tarleton who was with her, on and off, for 15 years. Mary is fascinating but not loveable. A professional "victim" and whiner, she also promoted herself "anonymously," writing her own reviews and extolling both her talent and her beauty under thinly veiled pseudonyms. Not being critical-a good bitch is way more fun than a "good girl." Mary was quite the tragic figure, but she brought a lot of it on herself. Talent and wisdom did not go hand in hand with this one.

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  12. Although I agree with the mini biography you just gave; you should know I never stated that she WANTED to give up the stage. Just like with Dorothea Jordan, it was a mean trick to degrade a working woman who unfortunately got involved with a prince. I believe, I even talked about it in my longer entry about Mary that I linked to.

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