"Sappho and Phaon" by Mary Robinson is a poignant sonnet sequence that breathes life into the legendary tale of the ancient poetess Sappho's tragic love. Robinson, known as 'the English Sappho, ' was a pioneering female author and feminist trailblazer with a dramatic life story. Abandoned by her father at a young age, she turned to teaching and acting, capturing the heart of the Prince of Wales before transforming into a respected writer. In this work, Robinson reimagines Sappho not as the iconic figure of later centuries, but as the Renaissance had often portrayed her: a tortured lover, hopelessly enamored with Phaon, a boatman. Her pursuit of Phaon to Sicily and her eventual leap from the Leucadian cliffs symbolize a profound narrative of passionate love and despair. The tale likely resonated deeply with Robinson's own experiences of love and rejection. Robinson's Sappho diverges from historical accuracies, focusing instead on the emotional depth and human complexities of her characters. This sonnet sequence stands as a testament to Robinson's literary talent and her ability to weave personal anguish into timeless art. "Sappho and Phaon" invites readers to experience a moving portrayal of love, loss, and the enduring power of poetry.

Once celebrated as 'the English Sappho,' Mary Robinson was a major figure in British Romanticism. This volume offers comprehensive study of Robinson's achievement as a poet, a professional writer, a formative influence on the Romantic movement, and a participant in the literary, political, and social scene of the late 1700s.

Mary Robinson’s work has begun again to assume a central place in discussions of Romanticism. A writer of the 1790’s—a decade which saw the birth of Romanticism, revolution, and enormous popular engagement with political ideas—Robinson was acknowledged in her time as a leading poet. Her writing exhibits great variety: charm, theatricality, and emotional resonance are all characteristics Robinson displays. She was by turns a poet of sensibility, a poet of popular culture, a chronicler of the major events of the time, and a participant in some of its chief aesthetic innovations. This long-awaited collection is the first critical edition of her poems.

Originally coming to prominence as an actress and scandalous celebrity, Mary Robinson created an identity for herself as a poet and novelist of the Romantic school. Cross argues that Robinson’s dialogues shaped the nature of Romantic verse and went on to influence second-generation Romantics such as Christina Rossetti and Alfred Lord Tennyson.

“Tense, moving, and hilarious . . . [A] dark jewel of a novel.” —Francine Prose, O, The Oprah Magazine Three husbands have left her. I.R.S. agents are whamming on her door. And her beloved cat has gone missing. She's back and forth between Melanie, her secluded Southern town, and L.A., where she has a weakening grasp on her job as a script doctor. Having been sacked by most of the studios and convinced that her dealings with Hollywood have fractured her personality, Money Breton talks to herself nonstop. She glues and hammers and paints every item in her place. She forges loving inscriptions in all her books. Through it all, there is her darling puzzling daughter who lives close by but seems ever beyond reach, and her son, the damaged victim of a violent crime under police protection in New York. While both her children seem to be losing all their battles, Money tries for ways and reasons to keep battling. Why Did I Ever is a book of piercing intellect and belligerent humor. Since its first publication in 2002 it has had a profound impact, not only on Robison’s devoted following, but on the shape of the contemporary novel itself.

This compelling and richly researched book presents a fascinating portrait ofMary Robinson--darling of the London stage, mistress to the most powerful menin England, feminist thinker, and bestselling author.

This book calls attention to the pervasive but largely unacknowledged poetics of the 'Fancy' evident in poetry written during the British Romantic period. These poetics, Robinson demonstrates, are an early nineteenth-century version of what will become the visionary, experimental, open-form poetics of the twentieth-century.