3-047-021 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Portrait of Mrs. Robinson, by Sir Joshua Reynolds, 1872. Engraving of a painting. '...though its subject is a pretty woman dressed in the fashion of ninety years ago, she was one whose behaviour did not merit such commemoration. Mary Darby Robinson, born...in 1758, was married, at the age of fifteen, to a profligate and dishonest attorney...when her husband deserted her, she went upon the stage, being encouraged by Garrick and patronised by the Duchess of Devonshire. Her performance of Perdita, in "The Winter's Tale," drew some attention for the sake of her beauty, and she was freely spoken of as "Perdita-Robinson." Still more freely was she spoken of...as the paramour of the young Prince of Wales...Soon after her dismissal by the Prince, she was afflicted with a malady which deprived her of the use of her limbs; and so, being unable to earn her livelihood as an actress, she took advantage of [her] notoriety...to make money by authorship. Several novels, which are utterly forgotten, a tragedy called "The Sicilian Lover," and a volume or two of short poems were the fruit of her literary industry. She also wrote her autobiography, which does not much raise her character in the reader's esteem. She...is buried in Old Windsor churchyard'. From "Illustrated London News", 1872.