Publisher's Synopsis
Mary Leapor was a gifted poet: clever, funny, fluent and varied in her output. Unfortunately, she was female, poor (the daughter of a gardener, she went in service as a kitchen-maid), rather odd-looking, and mainly self-educated. She had to battle constantly to find time to write, and to deflect criticisms that she should be devoting herself to 'proper' women's work.There is increasing academic interest in her these days, after 250 years of neglect. But there has been no affordable edition for the non-specialist reader until now. This selection aims to introduce an endearing and talented young woman (she died at the age of 24), who had little luck during life or after it.
