NEW BOOK: BUCKINGHAMSHIRE'S FIRST FEMINIST POET - THE LIFE OF SARAH FYGE EGERTON 1668-1723

Sarah Fyge Egerton came from a Winslow family and was second cousin of William Lowndes who built Winslow Hall. She was buried in St Laurence Church which still has her silver salver. She published her first feminist poem at the age of 17 and lived an eventful life which involved being ‘exiled’ to Shenley by her father, two unfortunate marriages, a brief period in the London literary scene, an attempt to divorce her second husband (the rector of Adstock), unsuccessful pursuit of a married man, and a very public quarrel with another woman writer. David Noy has written the first full biography of her, using newly discovered sources to put her in her local and national context.

The book’s 275 pages also include sections on the Fyges of Winslow and Egertons of Adstock, maps and family trees, and the texts of some of the poems.  It is available from the Bucks Archaeological Society (https://bas1.org.uk/) for £16 + p&p.  If you’re in Winslow you can get it for £16 direct from David Noy (16 McLernon Way, tel. 0771 3641238, d.noy@btinternet.com). Click here for more information (PDF).

Winslow books for sale:

• David Noy, How One Man Transformed a Town: Winslow 1640–1770 and William Lowndes (Bucks Archaeological Society, 2020): £11
• David Noy, Winslow in 1556: The Survey of the Manor (Bucks Archaeological Society, 2013): £5
• David Noy, Winslow Manor Court Books 1327-1377 and 1423-1460 (2 vols, Bucks Record Society, 2011): £10 (drastically reduced price)
• Alan Wigley, A Window on Winslow (Winslow, 1981): £5 - this contains many historical photos of Winslow

Please contact d.noy@btinternet.com for more information.