Mary Robinson

Robinson was born in Bristol, England to Nicholas Darby, a naval captain, and his wife Hester (née Vanacott). She was baptised 'Polle(y)'. In her memoirs, Robinson gives her birth in 1758 but the year 1757 seems more likely according to recently published research. Her father deserted her mother and took on a mistress when Robinson was still a child. Darby died in the Russian naval service in 1785. Robinson, who at one point attended a school run by the social …