Sir Charles Sedley, 5th Baronet in 1702. The relationship with Ann Ayscough lasted to the end of Sedley's life. His reputation as a wit and dissolute was partially responsible for the Sedleys of William Makepeace Thackeray's "Vanity Fair". His most famous song, "Phyllis is My Only Joy", is much more widely known now than the author's name. While Sedley chiefly produced light amatory verse and pastoral dialogues in the 1670s, he turned to satirical epigrams in the 1680s and 1690s. His "Epigrams: or, Court Characters" are modelled on the works of Martial. In his epigram "To Nysus", for example, Sedley describes the function of satire
Catherine Sedley, Countess of Dorchester Catherine Sedley, Countess of Dorchester Catherine Sedley, Countess of Dorchester, Countess of Portmore (21 December 1657 – 26 October 1717), daughter of Sir Charles Sedley, 5th Baronet, was the mistress of King James II and VII both before and after he came to the throne. Catherine was noted not for beauty but for her celebrated wittiness and sharp tongue. Catherine was the only legitimate child of the Restoration poet Sir Charles Sedley. Her mother was Lady Catherine Savage, daughter of John Savage, 2nd Earl Rivers. She grew up "notoriously plain" (brunette and thin rather than plump and fair). While her