Meet the patients: Emilia Lanier

This week we are introducing you to Emilia Lanier, who was an actualt client of Simon Forman, just like the previously introduced Thomas and Alice Blague.

Emilia Lanier (née Bassano) was born into a family of Italian musicians who entertain in the English Royal Court. Precociously intelligent, and, having mastered both Latin and Greek as a child, she is said to be "mature for her age" by the significantly older men who take a romantic interest in her. Emilia has hopes of becoming a "poetess", which reveals a failure to grasp the historical and social context in which she lives. Perhaps a man might explain it to her?