Lady Mary Chudleigh

Abbreviations

Ezell

The Poems and Prose of Mary, Lady Chudleigh, ed. Margaret Ezell (Oxford & New York, 1993).

Introduction

Mary, Lady Chudleigh (née Lee), published her verses and essays in The Ladies Defence (London, 1701), in Poems on Several Occasions (London, 1703, reprinted several times until 1750), and in Essays upon Several Subjects in Prose and Verse (London, 1710). Although at least some of the works in these publications are likely to have had previous limited manuscript circulation among her family and social circle, no extant examples of such manuscripts have been recorded hitherto. Only a few probably later copies of certain poems have come to light at present (ChM 1-4).

Lost Manuscripts

Also unknown are the manuscripts left by her which, according to George Ballard in his account of Lady Chudleigh (Bodleian, MS Ballard 74), included two tragedies, two operas, a masque, some of Lucian's dialogues done into verse, ‘Satyrical Reflections on Saqualio’, in imitation of one of Lucian's dialogues, and several short poems on various occasions (Ezell, p. xxxv).

Letters

Her only other recorded manuscript remains are a few letters now in the Bodleian and British Libraries (ChM 5-7).

Peter Beal