Mary Leapor

Born in 1722 in Marston St. Lawrence, Northamptonshire into a working-class family, poet Mary Leapor was an only child. She lived a relatively short life, dying of measles in 1746 at the age of just 24. Despite dying so young she left behind a body of work which attracted attention in the latter half of the eighteenth century. Unfortunately it fell into some obscurity as the years progressed. Today, Leapor’s work is steadily beginning to gain more interest.

Leapor was educated at a local dame school and was also partly self-educated. According to her father, Leapor was aged 10 when she began ‘writing tolerably’. When Leapor attained a position as a kitchen maid for Susanna Jennens, a friend and associate of Mary Wortley Montagu, and a writer herself, she was encouraged to write by Jennens, who even allowed her the use of the library. Apparently, Leapor enjoyed writing so much, she even wrote her poems in the kitchen! Her love of writing was so great that it unfortunately led to her dismissal in later employment, yet her struggle to write whilst working is arguably central to her identity as a poet.

Similarly to many writers of her period, Leapor adopted a pastoral pen name -- Mira. Struggling to find acceptance within her work in the local community, Leapor then met Bridget Freemantle, the daughter of a local vicar who became her friend and mentor and provided her with the help needed to develop and grow as a poet.

Leapor’s poetry addresses the plight of being a woman in the mid 18th century. The reflections in her poetry could be viewed as somewhat pessimistic, with her focusing on her life as a woman who was poor and unattractive. Her writing is arguably feminist, with her poetry emphasising the importance of education for women in particular, and debunking romantic myths about women. One of her most well-known poems, ‘An Essay on Woman’, addresses the unfairness of judging women solely on their appearance, and the limitations with which this burdens them. In the poem she writes about the paradoxical nature of womanhood. When a woman gets older, she is criticised for her looks, yet even if she is young and ‘fair’, this still leads to betrayal.

With interest in Leapor’s poetry steadily gaining wider recognition, to read further about her life and works, Stephen Van-Hagen’s book The Poetry of Mary Leapor is available here.