History will be made this Sunday as the first exhibition dedicated to the life and scandals of a literary genius will open at Chawton House.

The Mary Robinson: Actress, Mistress, Writer, Radical exhibition will break new ground as the most comprehensive display of her biography and literary works to date.

It will trace the extraordinary journey of her life and artistic development, exploring her hard-won second career as a popular and influential writer.

The late 18th century actress was a star of the London stage who gained notoriety as a royal mistress after catching the eye of the Prince of Wales as Perdita in The Winter’s Tale.

Long defined by her romantic liaisons, in recent decades she has been reclaimed as one of the most important writers of the late 18th century.

She lit up the fashion world, sparking trends with her choice of outfit, and would go on to command the literary world, publishing 15 works of poetry, seven novels, as well as political and feminist essays.

A talented poet, she developed her distinctive style alongside some of the best-known writers of the day, and in the final decade of her life honed her political ideas in the radical circle around William Godwin and Mary Wollstonecraft.

Yet despite her aristocratic and literary connections, few would publicly associate with Robinson because of her ruined reputation.

Once the most famous woman in England, she died a social outcast, with only two friends at her funeral.

Entry to the exhibition is included in admission to the house.