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Andrew Marvell: Man of contradictions |
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A mysterious figure even in death
Andrew Marvell's London home
© Courtesy of Hull Local Studies Library |
Andrew Marvell, poet and politician, died on 16th August 1678, in his rented house in Great Russell Street having just returned from a rare visit to Hull – it was on this journey that he caught a fever which brought about his death. He was buried in St. Giles-in-the-Fields on 18th August, Hull Corporation contributed to the funeral expenses and a memorial tablet. In 1681, the first collection of poems by Marvell was published under the title 'Miscellaneous Poems'. The edition included the following notice to the reader:
“…all these poems, as also the other things in this book contained, are printed according to the exact copies of my late dear Husband, under his own handwriting, being found since his death among his other papers, witness my Hand this 15th day October 1680. Mary Marvell”
Andrew Marvell's London home
© Courtesy of Hull Local Studies Library |
This was in fact Mary Palmer, the landlady of Marvell’s lodgings in Westminster. The Great Russell Street lodgings had been taken in her name and were used to house Richard Thompson and Edward Nelthorpe, two Hull-born bankers who had gone bankrupt and were now fleeing their creditors. Edward Nelthorpe had deposited £500 in Marvell’s name at a goldsmiths. After Marvell’s death, Mary Palmer assumed his name in order to try and claim this £500, the collection of poetry was probably published to give her claim some credibility. Mary Palmer claimed she had married Marvell in May 1667 at Holy Trinity in the Little Minories, a fact neither she nor anyone else could prove or disprove because the registers were missing. She ceased to use Marvell’s name after 1684, after Nelthorpe had got his money back.
In life, Marvell was a mysterious man. Not only was he a controversial writer, but he also kept his true allegiances a well kept secret, managing to gain the favour of both parliamentarian and royalist causes, in an age when so many lost their lives for backing the wrong side at the wrong time. Then there are those periods of his life when no trace of him can be found. What was Marvell up to? Was he really the 17th Century James Bond or was he just broadening his knowledge with travel? Even after his death the controversy continued with the alleged marriage to Mary Palmer. The absolute truth of his life, his trips abroad and his marriage will probably never be known.
Words: David Smith - Hull Local Studies Library
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