ABSTRACT
Blake's "Mrs Q" turned out to be a particularly timely intervention— whether by accident/design—into an episode in English politics which was a continuation of postwar radicalism's strategy of subverting the authority of the King and Tory Cabinet. Blake's "Mrs Q" has every appearance of being a non-satirical fashion plate portrait. The relationship between Blake's "Mrs Q," Harriette Quintin, Queen Caroline and the sympathies of the metropolitan working-class population makes an extremely complex network of contemporary sexual politics. The strong association in the popular press between Harriette Quintin and "goings-on" at Windsor Castle helps explain the reasoning behind the enigmatic companion piece to Blake's "Mrs Q''. Blake's pirate, William Benbow, is an important figure in English radical history. The significance of Blake's "Mrs Q" as an intervention into a highly politicized contemporary debate with important implications for constitutional issues, public order, and the reformist movement arguably outweighs the significance of Blake as a poet and artist during his own lifetime.
