Mary Leapor
Mary Leapor (1722-1746) was an English poet born in Northamptonshire, whose life and work provide a unique perspective on the experiences of women and the working class in the 18th century. Daughter of a gardener and raised in a nurturing yet modest environment, she began writing poetry at a young age. Despite her talent, Leapor faced societal limitations, working as a maid and later taking on household responsibilities after her mother’s death. Her poetry, characterized by vivid imagery and natural language, often reflected her experiences and observations as a working woman, addressing themes such as gender discrimination, domestic life, and societal injustices.
Leapor's only published work, "Poems upon Several Occasions," was released posthumously in 1748, gaining recognition for its social commentary and protofeminist themes. She is noted for reworking traditional poetic forms to express her views on marriage, beauty standards, and male authority. Although her writing enjoyed a brief period of acclaim after her death, she remained largely overlooked until feminist critics revived interest in her work in the late 20th century. Through her poetry, Leapor challenges the conventional literary canon of her time, offering readers insight into the lives of women and the complexities of British society during the Augustan age.
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Subject Terms
Mary Leapor
Writer
- Born: February 26, 1722
- Birthplace: Marston St. Lawrence, Northamptonshire, England
- Died: November 14, 1746
Biography
Mary Leapor was born on February 26, 1722, at Marston St. Lawrence in Northamptonshire, England. Her father, Philip Leapor, was gardener to Sir John Blencowe, former member of Parliament for Brackley, baron of the Exchequer, and a justice of several magistrate bodies. After Blencowe’s death in 1727, her family moved to nearby Brackley, where Leapor’s father established a plant nursery. Leapor may have attended the village school, but it is more likely that she was taught to read and write by her parents.
Although Leapor began writing verses at the age the of ten or eleven, she was sent into service as a maid not far from Brackley at Weston Hall, the house of Blencowe’s daughter. After being dismissed from service, Leapor returned to Brackley to keep house for her father after her mother’s death in 1742. Shortly thereafter, Leapor’s poetry came to the attention of Bridget Freemantle, a member of the local gentry, who encouraged Mary to publish in London.
Unfortunately, Leapor died of the measles at age twenty-four before her only book, Poems upon Several Occasions, came out. Her works were collected and published posthumously by subscription in 1748 and 1751, but only her father lived to see the publication of her work and gain something from the subscriptions. Once they were published, her works were well received and she became a popular poet.
Unlike most poets of that time, Leapor seldom addressed abstractions and wrote few odes. Instead, she wrote about her experiences as a working woman in a society that discriminated against women. As the daughter of a nurseryman, Leapor used imagistic, natural language to describe the beauty she experienced in that pastoral setting. For example, one of her most anthologized poems, “The Month of August,” includes allusions to her father’s fruit trees.
Although Leapor was remembered well into the nineteenth century as a prodigy with unschooled poetic ability, she is more likely to be read by late twentieth century readers as an ironic poet who skillfully reworks traditional forms into social and protofeminist protest. A copy of the first volume of Leapor’s poems, which remains in the library at Weston, is inscribed “Once kitchen maid at Weston.”
As the achievement of a poet who was both a woman and member of the working class, Leapor’s writing stands outside the traditional canon of eighteenth century literature and offers readers a different perspective on British life and ideas during the Augustan age. Some of the major concerns evident in her poetry are the injustices suffered by women and the poor, marriage and domestic life, friendship among women, standards of beauty, and male violence and paternalism. Leapor’s poetry was briefly renowned in the years following her death, but she remained an obscure literary figure outside her native Northamptonshire until her rediscovery by feminist critics during the late twentieth century.