Perdita The Life of Mary Robinson

'Enthralling and perceptive...A fine biographer has conjured up a dazzling personality and brought her, laughing, back to life.' Sunday Times

'Mary Robinson, scandalous darling of the 18th-century stage and letters, is given a welcome rebirth. A full-scale literary biography...a fitting tribute to her.' Observer

'Robinson's is a life that bears the retelling. She cuts a figure in the history of celebrity culture and in literary history. Paula Byrne's full-scale biography is cholarly, lively and important.' Daily Telegraph

'...a superbly researched and narrated life of a woman whose capacity for self-transformation, when combined with beauty, talent, wit and passion suggest that she may be the most interesting of all.' Miranda Seymour, Sunday Times

Praise for 'Jane Austen and the Theatre':

'This scholarly, perceptive book leaves you wanting more from the same author.' Loraine Fletcher, Independent