Lucy Hutchinson

Lucy Hutchinson (; 29 January 1620 – October 1681) was an English translator, poet, and biographer, and the first person to translate the complete text of Lucretius's De rerum natura (On the Nature of Things) into English verse, during the years of the Interregnum (1649–1660). Biography Lucy Apsley was born on 29 January 1620 in the Tower of London, where her father, Sir Allen Apsley, was Lieutenant. She was named after her mother, Lady Lucy St John, and was the second of ten children. Lucy was married on 3 July 1638 in St. Andrew Holborn to Colonel John Hutchinson (1615–1664). She claimed that he was in part attracted to her intellectual and poetic accomplishments. In 1649, John Hutchinson was one of the signatories of King Charles's death-warrant, but he later protested against the assumption of supreme power by Oliver Cromwell. After the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660, her husband was arrested for his part in the regicide and imprisoned in Sandown Castle, Kent. However, he was not tried. Lucy went before the House of Lords to gain his release, but to no avail. In 1664, John Hutchinson died in prison. His death deeply affected her and her writing, as attested by her "Elegies" series of poems.