Speaker 1: Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of I Heart Radio
Speaker 1: and Grim and Mild from Aaron Mankey listener discretion advised, Hey,
Speaker 1: this is Danish Swartz, the host of Noble Blood. If
Speaker 1: you want to support the show, we have a Patreon
Speaker 1: in the episode description, where I publish episode scripts, do
Speaker 1: a monthly bonus episode, and have access to a ton
Speaker 1: of exclusive merch like a monthly sticker club. There is
Speaker 1: merch for sale, the only actual I know. There's some
Speaker 1: like weird bootleg merch out on the internet, but the
Speaker 1: actual merch is at a website called d f t
Speaker 1: b a dot com. The link is also in the
Speaker 1: episode description. Makes a great holiday gift and I hate
Speaker 1: asking for anything, but I wrote a book that's coming
Speaker 1: out in February. It's a sequel to my novel Anatomy
Speaker 1: A Love Story. This one is called Immortality a Love Story.
Speaker 1: There are cameos from several characters that I've talked about
Speaker 1: on this podcast. And if you like Noble Blood, I
Speaker 1: really think you're gonna get and so if you're interested,
Speaker 1: pre orders would be incredibly helpful. That link also in
Speaker 1: the episode of description. But the real support is just
Speaker 1: listening and so thank you so much. Thirty two miles
Speaker 1: southeast of London, stands one of the best surviving examples
Speaker 1: of medieval English architecture. Penn's Hurst Palace. Today part of
Speaker 1: the house and its gardens are open to the public.
Speaker 1: Anyone can go visit the fourteen century home that was
Speaker 1: built for the then Lord Mayor of London, which then
Speaker 1: later became part of the Crown's estate. Henry the Eighth
Speaker 1: would use the home as his hunting estate, evidently hunting
Speaker 1: both game and wives, and Bolin's childhood home, Heaver Castle,
Speaker 1: was just a few miles away. Even if you don't
Speaker 1: get the opportunity to visit Penshurst in person, there's a
Speaker 1: good chance that, if you're a connoisseur of historical costume dramas,
Speaker 1: the estate will pop up somewhere on your screen. Films
Speaker 1: like Anne of a Thousand Days, The Other Bolin Girl,
Speaker 1: even The Princess Bride, along with BBC dramas like Elizabeth
Speaker 1: R and Wolf Hall, all feature scenes filmed at Penshurst.
Speaker 1: But for all of the screen time Hollywood has given Penshurst,
Speaker 1: they're still yet to adapt a story actually centered on
Speaker 1: the family that once was based there. The Sydney's In
Speaker 1: fifteen fifty two, Henry, the eighth son King Edward, would
Speaker 1: grant Penshurst to his courtier, Sir William Sidney. William had
Speaker 1: three grandchildren, Philip Sydney, the famous poet and elizabeth Ian courtier,
Speaker 1: Robert Sydney, a statesman and patron of the arts, and
Speaker 1: Mary Sidney, a poet and patron herself. Thanks to them,
Speaker 1: Penshurst became something of a literary hot spot. The poem
Speaker 1: to Penshurst by Ben Johnson goes so far as to
Speaker 1: compare it to a meeting place of the muses in
Speaker 1: Greek mythology, so it's no surprise that Robert Sidney's own daughter,
Speaker 1: also named Mary, would gain literary aspirations growing up in
Speaker 1: such a place. In fact, Young Mary, who would grow
Speaker 1: up into a woman named Lady Mary Roth, would come
Speaker 1: to be known as England's first female novelist. Her prose
Speaker 1: romance The Countess of Montgomery's Urania, was praised by fellow writers,
Speaker 1: but not seen as favorably by the members of Queen
Speaker 1: Anne's court, who thought Mary's characters suspiciously resembled some of
Speaker 1: their own. As will come to see the story of
Speaker 1: Lady Mary Roth and her literary career is perhaps the
Speaker 1: best real life representation of the idea put forth by
Speaker 1: Virginia Wolf in a Room of One Zone that any woman,
Speaker 1: even a noble one, who put her name on her
Speaker 1: writing would quote risk being thought a monster. I'm Dani Schwartz,
Speaker 1: and this is noble blood. On October Mary Roth was
Speaker 1: born Mary Sydney, the eldest daughter of Sir Robert Sidney
Speaker 1: and his wife, the Heiress Lady Barbara Gamage. The late
Speaker 1: fifteen eighties was a time of radical change within the
Speaker 1: Sydney family. Just two years before Mary was born, her
Speaker 1: father was elected to his first political post as a
Speaker 1: Member of Parliament. That was the same year he and
Speaker 1: his brother Philip would go to the Netherlands to fight
Speaker 1: a battle against Spain, but only the former would return alive.
Speaker 1: Upon his brother's death, Robert Sidney inherited Penshurst, which would
Speaker 1: then become Mary's childhood home. To better understand Mary's future work,
Speaker 1: it makes sense to spend a bit of time thinking
Speaker 1: about her uncle and his legacy. Remember, her father was
Speaker 1: one of three literary siblings. There was Philip, Robert and Mary.
Speaker 1: Philip died at age thirty one, leaving behind a prolific
Speaker 1: body of work that had yet to be published. Writing
Speaker 1: was not his primary focus in his lifetime, but his
Speaker 1: talent was undeniable. C. S. Lewis once called him quote
Speaker 1: without equal before Shakespeare, a reputation that has stuck to
Speaker 1: this day. If you're going to be in second place
Speaker 1: to anyone, Shakespeare isn't the worst person to be behind.
Speaker 1: Robert's most famous works include his Sequence of a Hundred Nates, Sonnets,
Speaker 1: Astrophil and Stella, and the pastoral romance Arcadia. Arcadia would
Speaker 1: come to be known as the Countess of Pembrooke's Arcadia
Speaker 1: after his sister, Mary, Countess of Pembroke, our Mary's aunt.
Speaker 1: Not only is the work dedicated to her, but it
Speaker 1: was she, Countess Mary, who was the one to take
Speaker 1: on the responsibility of editing and publishing Arcadia after Philip's death.
Speaker 1: The style and substance of Arcadia would go on to
Speaker 1: influence a number of writers, namely Shakespeare himself and one
Speaker 1: Lady Mary Roth. But before we get there, let's speak
Speaker 1: some more about the young Mary. Only a year after
Speaker 1: she was born, Robert, her father, would also inherit Philip's
Speaker 1: post as governor to the town of Flushing in the Netherlands,
Speaker 1: which meant he spent most of his time abroad while
Speaker 1: his family remained in England. When Mary wasn't at Penshurst,
Speaker 1: much of her childhood was spent at the London castle
Speaker 1: of her aunt, the Countess Mary. Countess Mary had also
Speaker 1: turned her home into a literary gathering place, and it
Speaker 1: can be assumed young Mary had access to an extensive
Speaker 1: collection of classics, humanist works, and the yet to be
Speaker 1: published Philip Sidney works. The Countess's literary work went far
Speaker 1: beyond the editing and publishing of Arcadia. She translated multiple
Speaker 1: works from French to English and published Psalms, a joint
Speaker 1: project she began working on with Philip before his death.
Speaker 1: The final collection included forty three of his revised psalms
Speaker 1: and a hundred and seven of her own. Notably, she
Speaker 1: used her own name on all of these works, a
Speaker 1: rare occurrence for the age. As you could predict, the
Speaker 1: Countess would also be a major influence un Mary's future writing.
Speaker 1: Splitting her time between the Countess's home and Penn'shurst, it
Speaker 1: was almost a given that Mary would receive a literary
Speaker 1: education her education was likely the responsibility of tutors and
Speaker 1: her mother, championed by her father abroad. Much of our
Speaker 1: knowledge of Mary's childhood comes from exchanges between her father
Speaker 1: and her adviser, in which Robert asks for frequent updates
Speaker 1: about his daughter's education. She was quote very forward in
Speaker 1: her learning, writing, and other exercises she has put to
Speaker 1: as dancing and the virginals end quote. The advisor replied, well,
Speaker 1: it was not uncommon for a girl of noble birth
Speaker 1: to receive an informal education. It was still not yet
Speaker 1: a universal practice, and Robert's particular emphasis on his daughter's
Speaker 1: reading and writing was a reflection of their family values.
Speaker 1: As much as the Sydney family was involved old in
Speaker 1: the literary world, they were equally involved in court life.
Speaker 1: One of the earliest anecdotes we have from Mary's court
Speaker 1: life is of her performing a dance for Queen Elizabeth
Speaker 1: on a royal visit to pence Hurst, and again a
Speaker 1: dance in court in sixteen o two. Manuscripts preserved at
Speaker 1: Penshurst tell us the teenaged Mary was quote much commended
Speaker 1: by her majesty. In sixteen oh three, following King James's
Speaker 1: ascension to the throne. Mary's father returned to England, he
Speaker 1: was named Baron Sydney of Penshurst and appointed chamberlain to
Speaker 1: the Queen Consort Anne of Denmark, further cementing the Sydney
Speaker 1: family's place in court. The following year, King James married
Speaker 1: the seventeen year old Mary to Sir Robert Roth, the
Speaker 1: son of a wealthy Essex landowner, Promising as the marriage
Speaker 1: might have seemed on paper, it was truly a match
Speaker 1: made in hell. Despite marrying into the Sydney family, Robert
Speaker 1: Roth had little to no interest in literature, as the
Speaker 1: Poetry Foundation points out, quote during his entire career, only
Speaker 1: one book was dedicated to him, a treatise on mad
Speaker 1: dogs end quote. He preferred to spend his time hunting,
Speaker 1: which didn't win him any favors with his wife, but
Speaker 1: gained him quite a bit of favor with King James,
Speaker 1: who knighted him in sixteen o three. Ben Johnson, friend
Speaker 1: of the Sydneys and the famous prominent poet and playwright
Speaker 1: who was quoted earlier for his love of Pencers, once
Speaker 1: noted quote, my lady Roth is unworthily married on a
Speaker 1: jealous husband end quote. Even more harshly. A servant of
Speaker 1: Mary's once described her husband as quote the foulest churl
Speaker 1: in the world end quote. He was most likely guilty
Speaker 1: of philandering, gambling, and excess drinking. However, her husband's favorable
Speaker 1: relationship with King James meant that Mary's place in court
Speaker 1: was further secured. She was welcomed into Queen Anne's inner
Speaker 1: circle and became a staple in court. Masks, a form
Speaker 1: of music and dance performance that was highly popular in
Speaker 1: sixteenth century Europe. The first mask she performed in in
Speaker 1: six oh five was written by Ben Johnson himself, and
Speaker 1: the subject matter is incredibly upsetting but also perhaps unsurprising
Speaker 1: for English nobility. Titled The Mask of Blackness, Mary performed
Speaker 1: alongside Queen Anne and ten other friends as they donned
Speaker 1: black face to play quote black Ethiopian nymphs called the
Speaker 1: Twelve Daughters of Niger. The mask was so successful that
Speaker 1: it inspired numerous other performances, including a sequel, The Mask
Speaker 1: of Beauty, in which Anne and Mary reprised their roles.
Speaker 1: While generally received positively at the time, some reviews negatively
Speaker 1: considered the women's performances as Ethiopian nymphs. Quote unconvincing, You
Speaker 1: don't say. Though her life was entwined with life at court,
Speaker 1: Mary's literary career was simultaneously starting to begin. We know
Speaker 1: from our earliest reference to her work that her writing
Speaker 1: must have begun circulating before sixteen thirteen, during the time
Speaker 1: of her marriage. We have documented praise of her writing
Speaker 1: from prominent figures in the literary scene such as William Drummond,
Speaker 1: George Wither, and numerous others, But it wasn't until her
Speaker 1: husband's death that Mary's career really began to take shape.
Speaker 1: In sixteen fourteen, Mary gave birth to a son, James.
Speaker 1: Only a month later, her husband, Robert died of gang
Speaker 1: green Because it wasn't enough to be terrible in his lifetime,
Speaker 1: Robert left behind a pile of debt twenty three thousand
Speaker 1: pounds that was now Mary's responsibility. On top of that,
Speaker 1: young baby James tragically died two years later, and the
Speaker 1: death of the air meant that Mary lost the Wrath estate.
Speaker 1: It went to whoever the next heir was. It's unclear
Speaker 1: how Mary dealt with the debt. The Sydneys, despite their status,
Speaker 1: were not actually particularly monetarily wealthy. One of the first
Speaker 1: major disputes in the marriage was over Mary's father's failure
Speaker 1: to pay the proper dowry. But we do know that
Speaker 1: Mary eventually was able to turn her folks us toward
Speaker 1: new work and new love. Going forward, I'd like to
Speaker 1: tell the story of Mary's life through her most famous,
Speaker 1: or depending on who you ask, infamous work, The Countess
Speaker 1: of Montgomery's Urania, published in sixty one. It's unknown when
Speaker 1: exactly Mary began writing the prose romance, but it could
Speaker 1: have been as early as sixteen fifteen. It was also
Speaker 1: around that time that Mary withdrew from court life. Whether
Speaker 1: it was of her own accord or a forced exile,
Speaker 1: we don't know for sure. Maybe it was a consequence
Speaker 1: of her husband's dad somehow, but either way, Urania's title
Speaker 1: page is a perfect bridging of Mary's past and Mary's present.
Speaker 1: Underneath the word title, we get this mouthful of a byeline,
Speaker 1: Let Me take a deep breath, written by the right
Speaker 1: Honorable the Lady Mary Roth, daughter to the right Noble Robert,
Speaker 1: Earl of Leicester, and niece to the ever famous and
Speaker 1: renowned Sir Philip Sidney Knight, and to the most excellent
Speaker 1: Lady Mary, Countess of Pembroke. Late deceased Countess Mary died
Speaker 1: the same year as Uranias publication. Perhaps notably, there is
Speaker 1: no mention of her late husband. Roth's name may have changed,
Speaker 1: she would always be a Sydney. It's once again worth
Speaker 1: noting that it was extremely uncommon for a woman to
Speaker 1: put her own name on her work, which makes the
Speaker 1: nod to Countess Mary in the byline more touching, as
Speaker 1: if she carved a path for her niece to be
Speaker 1: able to do it herself. To add the names of
Speaker 1: the prominent men and writers in her family may have
Speaker 1: been a move to legitimize her work, but it wasn't
Speaker 1: something the Countess ever did in her own published work.
Speaker 1: So the nod to Robert who encouraged her education, Countess Mary,
Speaker 1: who showed her niece what her own future could be,
Speaker 1: and Philip, whose style was the foundation for Urania, can
Speaker 1: also be read just as a show of respect to
Speaker 1: her family above all else in regards to that style.
Speaker 1: The academic Rice A. Bear, introducing a digital collection of
Speaker 1: Roth's works, argues that Philip's inspiration on Roth's writing can
Speaker 1: be seen in its form as quote, a long and
Speaker 1: rambling prose romance interspersed with poems. That's the style Philip
Speaker 1: could be credited with bringing back into fashion, and one
Speaker 1: that his niece Mary further innovated. The titular Countess herself
Speaker 1: also had connections to the Sydneys. She was Susan Daver,
Speaker 1: Countess of Montgomery, Mary's close friend and wife to Countess
Speaker 1: Mary's youngest son, making her Mary Roth's cousin in law.
Speaker 1: Countess Mary's oldest son is also going to be important here.
Speaker 1: He is William Herbert, the third Earl of Pembrooke, a politician, poet,
Speaker 1: and once Chancellor of Oxford. If you recognize the name
Speaker 1: Pembroke College, he's that guy. He will play an important
Speaker 1: role in Urania, but probably not when you're expecting, and
Speaker 1: more on that later anyway. As the professor Naomi J.
Speaker 1: Miller points out in her article, not much to be
Speaker 1: marked narrative of the woman's part in Lady Mary Roth's Urania.
Speaker 1: Mary honoring her friend in the title of her work
Speaker 1: is an early signifier to readers that Urania will differentiate
Speaker 1: itself from the prose romance that was being written by
Speaker 1: men in the ways in which you will honor female
Speaker 1: friendship and in the level of personhood it gives female characters.
Speaker 1: So now into the story itself. There are hundreds of
Speaker 1: characters in the prose piece, but they all loosely revolve
Speaker 1: around the tale of two lovers, Pamphilia and Amphilanthus. Pamphilia
Speaker 1: is a queen of an island kingdom of the same name,
Speaker 1: while Amphilanthus is the emperor of Romans and notably her
Speaker 1: first cousin. Can you guess where this is going. The
Speaker 1: name Pamphilia, like many of the names and characters in
Speaker 1: this story, is of Greek origin and means all loving. Amphilanthus,
Speaker 1: on the other hand, means lover of two. The conflict
Speaker 1: keeping these lovers apart is in their names. Pamphilia is
Speaker 1: a constant character, while Amphilanthus is inconsistent. The lovers cannot
Speaker 1: be together because Amphilanthus is constantly pursuing other women, begging
Speaker 1: Pamphilia to take him back each time. It is an
Speaker 1: obstacle that is purely an interpersonal conflict. There are no
Speaker 1: warring families keeping them apart, no meddling mythological forces, no
Speaker 1: comedy of air hers. That alone would be a fresh
Speaker 1: take on the genre, but added to it is Roth's
Speaker 1: assertion that amphilitis is not morally worthy of Pamphilia. The
Speaker 1: morality by which she defines Pamphilia is non traditional. While
Speaker 1: she takes measures to inform the audience of Pamphilia's femininity,
Speaker 1: her quote virtues are not the ones regularly associated with
Speaker 1: women in romances, chastity, purity, et cetera. Instead, Pamphilia is
Speaker 1: defined by her loyalty to her loved ones, putting forth
Speaker 1: a virtue that should be prioritized by both genders. The
Speaker 1: women in Pamphelia's life also play an important role in
Speaker 1: her narrative. When she falls into a depression due to
Speaker 1: her beloved infidelity, she seeks the advice of her friends
Speaker 1: as to how to deal with this conflict. Again a
Speaker 1: novel subject to give importance to in fictionate this time. Pamphelia,
Speaker 1: as you have likely figured out, is a representation of
Speaker 1: Mary herself. She is a strong queen whose autonomy is
Speaker 1: supported by her father and uncle and Philanthus. Her lover
Speaker 1: represents her cousin William Herbert. In your ania, Pamphelia expresses
Speaker 1: her love of a Philanthus by writing him love poems.
Speaker 1: In reality, Mary wrote a play entitled Love's Victory given
Speaker 1: to William, along with a cipher that, when solved, spelled
Speaker 1: their fictional counterparts names. She really was the Taylor Swift
Speaker 1: of her time because he was her cousin. The Countess
Speaker 1: Mary's son, Mary Roth knew William well growing up. His
Speaker 1: brother Philip even lived with her in the Sydneys for
Speaker 1: some time, with William visiting most days of the week.
Speaker 1: It's unknown if their affair started before, during, or after.
Speaker 1: There was spective marriages. William got married only a few
Speaker 1: months after Mary. It's easy to guess why Mary was
Speaker 1: drawn to William. Her own husband had no interest in
Speaker 1: literary pursuits, whereas William was someone she trusted to keep
Speaker 1: her intellectually engaged. On top of that, he was known
Speaker 1: as being particularly handsome. We do know that at some
Speaker 1: point after the death of her husband, Mary and William
Speaker 1: had at least two illegitimate children, a daughter Catherine and
Speaker 1: son William, information confirmed by one of the elder William's cousins.
Speaker 1: In the continuation of Your Ania that was published after
Speaker 1: Mary's death, she introduced a new character, a night called
Speaker 1: fair Design, who does not have a proper name due
Speaker 1: to his status as an illegitimate child. Won the text
Speaker 1: heavily hints belongs to Pamphilia and and Philanthus, So how
Speaker 1: does the story end? Spoilerlert to anyone who is going
Speaker 1: straight from this podcast to read Urania. Pamphilia and amphilanthus,
Speaker 1: much like Rath and Herbert, do not end up together.
Speaker 1: Despite a prolific career as a nobleman, courtier and founder
Speaker 1: of an incredibly famous college. The longest section of William's
Speaker 1: Wikipedia is entitled quote Arranged marriages and Mistresses. In one
Speaker 1: of his own poems reads the line quote can you
Speaker 1: suspect a change in me and value your own constancy?
Speaker 1: End quote. Catherine and William were not his only illegitimate children.
Speaker 1: Before his first marriage, he had an affair with a
Speaker 1: woman named Mary Fitton. Fitton was a maid of honor
Speaker 1: to Queen Elizabeth and is thought to be the mysterious
Speaker 1: Dark Lady who is the subject of a series of
Speaker 1: Shakespeare's sonnets. William admitted he was her child's father there,
Speaker 1: but refused to marry her, and was thus sent to
Speaker 1: Fleet Prison for a brief period in sixteen o one,
Speaker 1: likely by the hand of Elizabeth herself, due to causing
Speaker 1: scandal with one of her maids of honor. He and
Speaker 1: Fitton were barred from Elizabethan court, but luckily for William,
Speaker 1: around this time, the Elizabethan era was coming to an end.
Speaker 1: Many contemporaries believed William to be a favorite of Queen
Speaker 1: Anne and that it was through her influence that he
Speaker 1: gained the position of Lord Chamberlain to King James, Queen
Speaker 1: Anne's husband, in sixteen fifteen. Not so coincidentally, this was
Speaker 1: the time Wroth began to withdraw from court life, or
Speaker 1: more likely fell out a favor with Queen Anne. Again,
Speaker 1: not so coincidentally, a similar story plays out in Urania.
Speaker 1: There are references throughout to a jealous queen who will
Speaker 1: go so far as to exile weaker rivals from court
Speaker 1: in order to keep her lover to herself. This might
Speaker 1: have been enough to cause outrage, but compared to some
Speaker 1: other allusions in Urania, the characterization of the queen was
Speaker 1: too vague to draw a straight line to Anne with
Speaker 1: her other characters. Though Mary did not pull her punches
Speaker 1: in imitating real life court scandals, the one that caused
Speaker 1: the biggest stir was in reference to the marriage of
Speaker 1: Honora Denny and James Hay in Urania, Roth describes a
Speaker 1: scene in which Sarellius or Hay has to step in
Speaker 1: to save his wife's life from her father's violent rage
Speaker 1: after she's accused of adultery. Edward Denny, the father in question,
Speaker 1: was infuriated. Denny expressed his rage through how Else poetry.
Speaker 1: He wrote a scathing and offensive poem about Wrath, addressed
Speaker 1: to Pamphilia from the Father in law of Cerelius. It
Speaker 1: begins quote hermaphrodite in show indeed a monster, as by
Speaker 1: thy words and works all men may const thy wraithful spirit,
Speaker 1: conceived an idle book, brought forth a fool, which, like
Speaker 1: the damn doth look. As Mary Ellen Lamb points out
Speaker 1: in her book Gender and Authorship in the Sydney Circle,
Speaker 1: Denny's critique is heavily gendered. In calling Rath a hermaphrodite,
Speaker 1: he attempts to punish her for the ways she's transgressed
Speaker 1: gender boundaries. The dame he refers to as is a
Speaker 1: word for a domesticated female animal, saying she's subhuman but
Speaker 1: she's still female. Roth replied almost immediately with a poem
Speaker 1: of her own. It's rhymes, matching Denny's word for word.
Speaker 1: Her map dite incense in art a monster as by
Speaker 1: your railing rhymes, the world may conster your spiteful words
Speaker 1: against a harmless book shows that an ass much like
Speaker 1: the sire doth look Denny, not being a real poet himself,
Speaker 1: sort of set himself up for this kind of besting,
Speaker 1: and it shows a truly astonishing level of hubris. It
Speaker 1: kind of reminds me of men on Twitter who think
Speaker 1: they might be able to win a set against Serena Williams. Unfortunately,
Speaker 1: talent means almost nothing when you're a woman in a
Speaker 1: man's world. Denny's response assured that Urania would be a scandal,
Speaker 1: leaving Mary in a treacherous situation. In a letter between
Speaker 1: two members of court, the gossip quote in her book
Speaker 1: of Urania, she doth papply and grossly play upon him
Speaker 1: and his late daughter, Lady Hayes, besides many others she
Speaker 1: makes bold with, and they say takes great liberty, or
Speaker 1: rather license to reduce whom she please, and thinks she
Speaker 1: dances in a net. Mary's course of action was to
Speaker 1: deny her connection to the book's publication. She wrote to
Speaker 1: a personal friend and a favorite of King James, the
Speaker 1: Duke of Buckingham, arguing it was only meant to be
Speaker 1: shared among friends, and she volunteered to stop the sale
Speaker 1: of it. Based on the detail of the title page
Speaker 1: and Mary's annotations in her copies, we can assume she
Speaker 1: was lying. The court fuss did, however, mean that Urania
Speaker 1: was never reprinted and Mary would forever be considered a pariah.
Speaker 1: After that, we know Mary began to work on the
Speaker 1: second part of Urania and her play Loves Victory, the
Speaker 1: one she gifted to William. Speaking of William, we do
Speaker 1: not know exactly when he ended the affair with Mary,
Speaker 1: but we know her characterization of him as amphil Lanthis
Speaker 1: the Philanderer was an accurate one. The latter part of
Speaker 1: Mary's life was sadly devoted to paying off the debt
Speaker 1: left behind by her late husband. Though her father could
Speaker 1: not aid financially, he did refuse requests from the Secretary
Speaker 1: of State to pressure Mary into paying, assuring him that
Speaker 1: Mary was capable of handling her affairs. It's likely that
Speaker 1: Mary died between sixteen fifty one and sixteen fifty three,
Speaker 1: and sadly no literary work survived from the last thirty
Speaker 1: years of her life. Still, despite the scandal. No one
Speaker 1: could take away Mary's status as the country's first female novelist.
Speaker 1: It would be over forty years before the next english
Speaker 1: woman published fiction under her own name. She was Margaret Cavendish,
Speaker 1: Duchess of Newcastle, and in the preface to her sixteen
Speaker 1: sixty four work Sociable Letter, she cheekily quoted the final
Speaker 1: couplet from Denny's poem to Mary, in which he argues
Speaker 1: that wise and worthy women don't write fiction. Work go
Speaker 1: the works, leave idle books alone. For wise and worthier
Speaker 1: women have written none. That's the story of Lady Mary Roth.
Speaker 1: But stick around after a brief sponsor break to hear
Speaker 1: a little bit more about her literary legacy. While Urania
Speaker 1: drew largely ire from contemporaries, it had one supporter in
Speaker 1: Ben Johnson. Not only did Johnson believe that Penshurst enhanced
Speaker 1: his literary mind, but Mary herself. In a sonnet to
Speaker 1: the Noble Lady the Lady may Erry Roth, Johnson argues
Speaker 1: that Mary's work made him not only a better poet,
Speaker 1: but a better lover. If William could not learn from
Speaker 1: am Philanthusis flaws, perhaps Johnson did I that have been
Speaker 1: a lover and could show it, though not in these
Speaker 1: in rhythms. Not wholly dumb, since I ascribe your sonnets
Speaker 1: and become a better lover and much better poet. It's
Speaker 1: a lesson every lover today can learn loyalty and constancy
Speaker 1: above all, don't be an Amphilanthus. Noble Blood is a
Speaker 1: production of I Heart Radio and Grim and Mild from
Speaker 1: Aaron Manky. Noble Blood is hosted by me Danishwartz. Additional
Speaker 1: writing and researching done by Hannah Johnston, hannah's Wick, Miura Hayward,
Speaker 1: Courtney Sunder, and Laurie Goodman. The show is produced by
Speaker 1: rema Il Kali, with supervising producer Josh Thaine and executive
Speaker 1: producers Aaron Manky, Alex Williams, and Matt Frederick. For more
Speaker 1: podcasts from I heart Radio, visit the I heart Radio app,
Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.