Perdita: The Literary, Theatrical, Scandalous Life of Mary Robinson - Softcover

"A remarkable woman and an exceptional biography."
-Amanda Foreman, author of Georgiana: Duchess of Devonshire

"Utterly absorbing, Paula Byrne's intensely researched Perdita aims to restore a measure of fame to a woman who, though a product of her time, seems our near-contemporary in her understanding of the workings of celebrity."
-Vogue

"A fascinating, page-turning, and probably definitive biography of this intriguing woman."
-Emma Donoghue, author of Life Mask and Slammerkin

"A fine biographer has conjured up a dazzling personality and brought her, laughing, back to life."
-Miranda Seymour, The Sunday Times (London)

"A work of genuine scholarship . . . a masterly portrait of a remarkable woman."
-Sunday Telegraph (London)

An intriguing study of the flamboyant and turbulent life of Mary Robinson, an eighteenth-century actress, writer, courtesan, and feminist, documents her exploits and adventures, from her early marriage and writings, to acclaimed career on stage and her love affair with the Prince of Wales, to her intellectual writings on the issues of her era. Reprint. 25,000 first printing.