Mary Heron (

fl. ''Floruit'' (; abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for "they flourished") denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indicatin ...

1786-1792) was an English writer who probably lived in or near

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county *Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in No ...

in the 1780s and 1790s. She was the author of three books of poetry and an

epistolary novel An epistolary novel is a novel written as a series of letters. The term is often extended to cover novels that intersperse documents of other kinds with the letters, most commonly diary entries and newspaper clippings, and sometimes considered ...

, all published in

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

. Her 1786 book, ''Sketches of Poetry'', named her as "Mary Heron of Durham" on the title page, and advertisements for her ''Odes, &c. on various occasions'' in 1792 described her the same way, while the preface to it is signed from Durham. The city is mentioned in several poems, and the countryside nearby is the theme for verses about the banks of the

River Wear The River Wear (, ) in North East England rises in the Pennines and flows eastwards, mostly through County Durham to the North Sea in the City of Sunderland. At long, it is one of the region's longest rivers, wends in a steep valley through th ...

(dated 1781),

Lumley Castle Lumley Castle is a 14th-century quadrangular castle at Chester-le-Street in the North of England, near the city of Durham and a property of the Earl of Scarbrough. It is a Grade I listed building. It is currently a hotel. History It is named a ...

(1785) and Finchale Abbey (Fankal Abbey 1784). Heron's ''Odes'' include poems about current affairs, especially the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

. She defends her interest in such matters in the preface, and admits to "feeling some anxiety" about how her work will be received. Women would be "an inferior order of beings" if they were "totally ignorant" of momentous events in a neighbouring country or "destitute of feeling for their fellow creatures". Since they are "often the first victims" of upheaval it is not unreasonable for them to give "their humble opinion". They should not, however, be active in public, political life like their "lords and masters". She points out that her ''Ode to Reformation'' supports "moderation" even while implying that England is not free of injustice, and says that "the love of our country, and a knowledge of its constitution are virtues". Julia Gasper, writing in the ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'', considers that Heron "had thought carefully about gender politics and that her opinions were advanced for the time".Julia Gasper, ‘Heron, Mary (fl. 1786–1792)’, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004 As well as writing about nature and socio-political topics, Heron composed various poems commemorating a death or addressed to an individual. Several of these touch on the theme of motherhood.

Works

* ''Sketches of poetry'', Newcastle: printed for the author; sold by T. Saint 1786 * ''Miscellaneous poems'', Newcastle: printed for the author; sold by T. Saint 1786 * ''The conflict: a sentimental tale in a series of letters'', Newcastle: Hall and Elliot 1790 * ''Odes, &c. on various occasions'', Newcastle: Hall and Elliot 1792

References

External links

Poems by Mary Heron available at PoetryNook.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heron, Mary 18th-century English writers English women poets Writers from Durham, England Year of birth missing Year of death missing 18th-century English women writers 18th-century English people