Queen Elizabeth I’s Maid of Honour and Shakespeare’s Dark Lady

Mary Fitton was born in 1578 in the delightful village of Gawsworth in Cheshire. She grew up to become a confident, intelligent and vivacious young woman who became a favourite of Queen Elizabeth I and many of the gentlemen of her Court; had affairs with some and became pregnant by one resulting in a threat of being imprisoned in the Tower of London. She bore a few illegitimate children before taking two husbands, and then had at least five more legitimate children, and died in 1641, aged 63. Thus a colourful and eventful life. Added to this it is claimed that she is the ‘Dark Lady’ of Shakespeare’s Sonnets. So, Mary’s story is certainly an intriguing one. The name of Mary Fitton as a contender for the identity of the Dark Lady of Shakespeare's Sonnets has been known of since 1890 when Thomas Tyler first proposed it. Since then theories have been put forward as to why she is not and who therefore might fit the bill, equally arguments as to why she is. Added to which the actual authorship of what are known as Shakespear's Sonnets is hotly debated. This new book looks at Mary's story in the context of her immediate family, her life in the Queen's court, her companions, her lovers and her two husbands. It also considers the arguments for and against her identification as the 'Dark Lady' and refers to the authorship debate.