Buckinghamshire’s First Feminist Poet: The Life of Sarah Fyge Egerton (1668–1723) and her Death at Winslow

Sarah Fyge was the daughter of a wealthy London apothecary and the descendant of a prominent Winslow family. When at the age of seventeen she published a feminist poem, The Female Advocate, her father sent her to live with relatives at Shenley, Bucks, and she spent most of the rest of her life in Buckinghamshire: at Shenley with her first husband, then as the wife of the rector of Adstock, and finally at Winslow as a widow.

The talk will look first at the middle of her life, from her first husband’s death in 1698 to her unsuccessful attempt to divorce her second husband in 1703. During this period she published memorable verse about the position of women as it was (“foolish, dull, trifling formality”) and as it might be (“an unchecked freedom take”), as well as writing love poetry to an unresponsive married man she called Alexis. She soon regretted her decision to marry Rev. Thomas Egerton (her much older second cousin), but the marriage lasted longer than her literary reputation did.

Then we’ll focus on the end of her life when she came to live at Winslow: the remarkable funeral she planned, the memorial which could be seen in St Laurence Church until 1884, and her silver salver which is still in the church. Her will, which caused arguments in Winslow for over a century, is harder to understand than any of her poems.

Timings

Thursday 17 September:

1930-2030

Location & directions

St Laurence Church, High Street, Winslow, Buckinghamshire, MK18 3AB

Contact on day:

David Noy

Telephone number:

+447713641238

Booking information

Pre-booking requirement:

Pre-booking not required

Additional information

Parking on Winslow Market Square or in Greyhound Lane and Public Hall Car Parks. Check notices for fees in operation.

Max number of people:

30

Estimated duration:

1 hour(s) 15 minute(s)

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