Arabella Fermor: heroine of The Rape of the Lock

Arabella Fermor was the belle of London society in the early years of the 18th century. Alexander Pope wrote his mock-heroic poem, The Rape of the Lock, about a scandalous incident between her and Lord Petre, much to ArabellaÂ’s dismay. The tone of its presentation of relations between the sexes is somewhat akin to Shakespeare's Much Ado and Merry Wives, with much lively dialogue that can be readily staged as the UCB Shakespeare Program discovered. Drawn by Gardner after Sir Peter Lely Published by Cadel l & Davis 1807. Courtesy of the Yorck Project, under GNU Free Document License.