New Light on Mary Fage, Author of <i>Fames Roule</i> (1637)

Mary Fage's Fames Roule (1637) is a remarkable collection of 420 anagrams and acrostic poems addressed to the English, Scottish, and Irish nobility. Yet it is barely known today, in part because Fage's biography and writing methods are poorly understood. This article sheds new light on Fage in two ways. First it shows that she had a printed source for her detailed knowledge of the names and titles of her addressees: Thomas Walkley's widely-available Catalogue (1635 edition). Then it re-assesses the available print and archival evidence to show that the case for believing that the author of Fames Roule came from Doddinghurst parish in Essex is much stronger than Betty S. Travitsky allowed in her seminal biographical research on Fage. By bringing Fage's life and writing practice into sharper focus, this article elucidates how Fames Roule engages with national politics in a way that was specific to her local and familial situation. It also provides a necessary starting point for understanding Fage as a rare female anagrammatist within a wider European tradition. Above all, it seeks to enable future readings that are more alert to Fage's intelligence, sensitivity, and self-possession.