ABSTRACT
Lady Mary Wroth (1587–1653) continued the literary tradition of the Sidney family, initiated by her uncle Sir Philip Sidney and fostered by her aunt Mary Sidney Herbert, Countess of Pembroke (see chapter 8). For many years her father, Sir Robert Sidney, served as Governor of Flushing and struggled to clear the debts incurred by his elder brother Philip, but his fortunes improved after the accession of James I in 1603. Mary’s marriage the following year to Sir Robert Wroth, a wealthy landowner, brought her to court. There she became a favorite of Queen Anne and performed in the elaborate masques written by, among others, Ben Jonson, who dedicated The Alchemist to Mary in 1612. It was an unhappy marriage: two of Mary’s three children resulted from a long liaison with her cousin William Herbert, Earl of Pembroke. Wroth died in 1614, leaving substantial debts that obliged Mary to withdraw from court. Despite her father’s continued favor with the king – he was created Earl of Leicester in 1618 – Mary was unable to defend herself against rumors concerning her private life. Turning to writing, she drew upon this background of the most spectacular aspects of court life and intense, thinly disguised, family relationships to create The Countesse of Montgomery’s Urania. The first part of this prose romance was published in 1621, 1 amid accusations of slander concerning characters and events represented; the second part of Urania remained unpublished. 2 The Countesse of Montgomery’s Urania incorporates such a vast array of characters, locations, and topics that it remains nearly impossible to summarize the text. Like many other early modern romances, its innumerable characters engage in countless adventures as the Urania’s narrative follows a host of interconnected tales involving love, chivalry, politics, and heartbreak. Often hard for the novice Wroth reader to keep straight, these stories cover several decades, countless miles, and a number of marriages, births, coronations, deaths, and wars. One consistent feature throughout the narrative, however, provides considerable structure to this web of disparate stories: the strong relationship linking the set of royal 105siblings and cousins who provide most of the central figures in the romance. The families at the heart of the text rule many European and Asian countries. Its members also regularly provide each other with social and romantic partners, making both personal and political ties extremely complex. The main female character, Pamphilia, for example, is Queen of the country of Pamphilia; she is also close friends with her cousin Urania, Queen of Albania. At the same time, she is in love with Urania’s brother, the Emperor Amphilanthus, even after they each marry others, namely the King of Tartaria and the Princess of Slavonia. This dizzying interconnection between siblings, cousins, monarchs, and lovers is replicated repeatedly in the Urania.
