THE TRUE LOVE Dorothy Osborne

A woman in a boat-neck 17th century gown in gold silk sits on a gold damask drape, head leaning on her hand and staring at the viewer with a pleasant expression. She has dark hair and extremely pale skin. — Dorothy Osborne, Lady Temple
portrait by Gaspar Netscher

In this episode, a 17th-century tale of true love and extreme patience. Dorothy Osborne and William Temple fell deeply in love, but her family forbade the match. For years, while Dorothy’s creepily overbearing brother presented her with suitor after suitor of his own choosing, Dorothy and William faithfully sent each other secret love letters. Dorothy’s letters survive, and reveal the story of her escape from the clutches of her possessive brother in pursuit of “happily ever after.”

Our guest is Professor Bernard Capp, foremost expert on 17th-century Britain and author of the new book, The Ties That Bind.

A digital archive of Dorothy Osborne’s letters can be found here, and free audio performances of her letters are at Librivox.

A man in 17th century dress, golden brown suit, white lace ruffs and cravat, long curly hair, clean-shaven face sits on a damask drape leaning his head on his hand and looking at the viewer with a pleasant expression. — Sir William Temple, Baronet
by Gaspar Netscher, 1675

An engraving of a large converted monastery with several wings, and expansive garden — Chicksands Priory, childhood home of Dorothy Osborne

Two people stand in front of a river and a Georgian-era building in the bright sunshine. — Katie Nelson and Professor Bernard Capp on the River Avon in Bath, England

After completing his masters and doctorate at the University of Oxford, Bernard Capp went on to teach at the University of Warwick for half a century. He has written books on a wide range of early modern English topics including the family, gender, radical movements in the English Revolution, the impact of puritan rule during the interregnum, astrological almanacs, popular literature, and the Cromwellian navy.