Early Life
Robinson was born in Bristol, England to John Darby, a naval captain, and his wife Hester (née Seys). In her memoirs, Robinso gives her birth in 1758 but the year 1757 seems more likely according to recently published research (see appendix to Byrne, 2005). Her father deserted her mother and took on a mistress when Robinson was still a child. The family hoped for a reconciliation, but Captain Darby made it clear that this was not going to happen. Without the support of her husband, Hester Darby supported herself and the five children born of the marriage by starting a school for young girls (where Robinson taught by her 14th birthday). However, during one of his brief returns to the family, Captain Darby had the school closed (which he was entitled to do by English law). Robinson, who at one point attended a school run by the social reformer Hannah More, came to the attention of actor David Garrick.
Read more about this topic: Mary Robinson (poet)
Famous quotes containing the words early and/or life:
“It is so very late that we
May call it early by and by. Good night.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“He is a man of one idea: that life has a symbolic significance. Which is to say that life and art are one.”
—Henry Miller (1891–1980)