She was the most beautiful woman of her age, but she also had the brains to match. She used her beauty to rise the ranks of London’s society and become one of the earliest female celebrities of the 18th century. But this was not all done in vain. Once she had created a name for herself, she transformed herself into one of the most respected and prolific writers of her day, and used her writing to advocate for both women’s rights and the abolition of slavery. She was beautiful, but she was also brilliant, and she deserves to be remembered just as much for her mind as she is for her stunningly good-looks. This episode explores the life of Mary Robinson, an accomplished actress, poet, writer, activist, and intellectual, and one of the most fascinating women of her age. In her lifetime, Mary was painted by renowned portraitists Sir Joshua Reynolds, Thomas Gainsborough, George Romney, and John Hoppner. Be sure to also listen to Part Two of this episode, which finishes Mary's story and honors her immense legacy as the brilliant, talented, and brave woman she was; a woman who never let the tragedies of her life define her, a woman who became one of the most important writers of her day, a woman who used her writing to advocate for a better world, and a woman, as the Romantic poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge once described, of “undoubted genius”.