Mary Robinson (poet) 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 Vanacott) who had married at Donyatt, Somerset, in 1749, and was baptised 'Polle(y)' ("Spelt
Mary Frances Billington of the Society for Women Journalists from 1913 to 1920, and served on the executive council of the Cowdray Club. She served as the only woman delegate to the 1920 Imperial Press Congress when it was held in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Mary Frances Billington died at home in London in 1925, a week short of her 63rd birthday. Her remains were buried at the churchyard in Chalbury, with those of her parents and her brothers. Mary Frances Billington Mary Frances Billington (6 September 1862 – 27 August 1925) was an English journalist and writer, whose collected articles on women were