Chawton House announces details of its upcoming exhibition on the scandalous life and literary genius of Mary Robinson

Opening to the public next month, Mary Robinson: Actress, Mistress, Writer, Radical is the first exhibition dedicated to the scandalous life and literary genius of Mary Robinson (1756/8 – 1800).

A star of the London stage, Mary Robinson became notorious as a Royal mistress, when
she caught the eye of the Prince of Wales as Perdita in The Winter’s Tale. Long defined
by her romantic liaisons, in recent decades she has been reclaimed as one of the most important writers of the late 18th century. This exhibition will break new ground, as the most comprehensive display of Mary Robinson’s biography and literary works to date. It
will trace the extraordinary journey of her life and artistic development, exploring her hard-won second career as a popular and influential writer.

From treading the boards of London’s theatres, to dominating the gossip columns, Mary
Robinson pioneered celebrity status. She lit up the fashion world, sparking trends with
her choice of outfit, and would go on to command the literary world, publishing 15 works
of poetry, 7 novels, as well as political and feminist essays. A talented poet, she developed her distinctive style alongside some of the best-known writers of the day, and in the final decade of her life honed her political ideas in the radical circle around William Godwin and Mary Wollstonecraft. Yet despite her aristocratic and literary connections, few would publicly associate with Robinson, due to her ruined reputation. Once the most famous woman in England, she died a social outcast, with only 2 friends at her funeral.

This exhibition will display, for the first time, rare and early editions of Robinson’s writing
– from the debut novel that sold out by lunchtime to her impassioned argument for
women’s education and rights – together with scant surviving manuscript material from
collections and archives across the UK. The exhibition offers a once in a lifetime chance
to see Robinson’s manuscript of the Memoirs she prepared for publication shortly before
she died, on loan from the Chequers Trust and shown here publicly for the first time.
Robinson was famously offered the astronomical sum of £20,000 to become a Royal
Mistress, although this sum was never paid. The true story of her financial settlement
with the Royal family is revealed through rare, surviving letters, showing both sides of
the negotiation, on loan from Hertfordshire Archives.

Chawton House Curator Emma Yandle says, “Mary Robinson might be the most
famous woman you’ve never heard of, who could be described as the first modern
celebrity. She was a great beauty and muse to the top society artists of the day, whilst
simultaneously being savaged in the press, (slut-shamed as we would say today), for
her romantic life. However, off the back of this infamy, she managed to forge a
successful career as a writer. Throughout her career, we see her resisting the limiting
definitions foisted upon her at the outset of her life. Using Robinson’s own words to
guide the narrative, the exhibition reveals how she was an active agent in her life story,
who carefully fashioned her identity, to reputational and financial ends. I hope people will
leave with a complicated sense of who she was, as well as considering the similarities
between the treatment of female celebrity in the past and today.”

Chawton House CEO Katie Childs says, “At Chawton House, we are dedicated to
sharing the stories of early women writers who have often been overlooked or
marginalized in literary history. Mary Robinson is one of many women in our collection
who defied societal expectations, and whose life story deserves to be told. We are
thrilled to have received a grant from the Weston Loan Programme with Art Fund, which
allows us to work in partnership with esteemed institutions to bring together rare artifacts
and manuscripts from across the UK. This collaborative effort not only enriches our
understanding of Robinson’s remarkable legacy but also ensures that her story is shared
with a wider audience. We invite everyone to explore the exhibition and discover the
multifaceted brilliance of Mary Robinson, a true trailblazer in literature and society.”

This exhibition was made possible with a grant from the Weston Loan Programme with
Art Fund. Mary Robinson: Actress, Mistress, Writer, Radical is open from 2 September 2024 and runs until 21 April 2025. Find out more here.