Mary Robinson (poet) with her, since they feared to receive a bad reputation sympathizing with Mary Robinson. Mary Robinson (poet) Mary Robinson (née Darby; 27 November 1757? – 26 December 1800) was an English actress, poet, dramatist, novelist, and celebrity figure. During her lifetime she was known as "the English Sappho". She earned her nickname "Perdita" for her role as Perdita (heroine of Shakespeare's "The Winter's Tale") in 1779. She was the first public mistress of King George IV while he was still Prince of Wales. Robinson was born in Bristol, England to Nicholas Darby, a naval captain, and his wife Hester (née
John Villiers, 1st Viscount Purbeck 18 February 1658 at Charlton, near Greenwich. The peerage became extinct, though the claim to it put forward by Robert Danvers was for many years a cause célèbre. John Villiers, 1st Viscount Purbeck John Villiers (c. 1591 – 18 February 1658) was an English courtier from the Villiers family. The eldest son of Sir George Villiers and Mary Beaumont, later Countess of Buckingham, he was the brother of King James I's favourite, George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham. John Villiers, born about 1591, was the eldest son of Sir George Villiers of Brooksby, Leicestershire, and his second wife, Mary Beaumont