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= Article Draft - Katherine Philips =

Early Life
Born in London, Katherine Philips was daughter of John Fowler, a Presbyterian cloth merchant of Bucklersbury, London, and of Katherine Oxenbridge, whose father worked in the medical profession. Philips, it seems, had a strong memory and was intellectually advanced, and was, according to a cousin of hers, able to read the Bible before the age of four.

In 1647, when she was sixteen, Katherine Fowler married Welsh Parliamentarian James Philips, who was long thought to be 54 years old, thus making him 38 years her senior. However, it seems their recovered marriage certificate has since shown that James Philips was only 24 years old at the time of their union.

Philips also broke with Presbyterian traditions, in both religion and politics, by becoming a member of the Church of England, as well as an ardent admirer of the king and his policy.

After her marriage, Philips resided primarily in her husband's family home in Cardiganshire. They had a son, named Hector, who did not live past infancy and was buried in London, in 1655. Hector's was the subject of some of Philips' later poems, such as "Epitaph on Hector Philips."

In 1662 she went to Dublin to pursue her husband's claim to certain Irish estates, which, due to her late father's past monetary investments in the British military, they were in danger of losing.

Literary Career
While in Dublin, Philips completed a translation of Pierre Corneille's La Mort de Pompée, produced with great success in 1663 in the Smock Alley Theatre, and printed in the same year both in Dublin and London, under the title Pompey.

Sexuality
There has, amongst critics, been speculation over Katherine Philips' sexuality, specifically in regards to the relationships she shared with some of her female friends. Literary critics have often highlighted suggestions of female intimacy and eroticism within Philips' work. In fact, many of her poems were written for or about fellow Society of Friendship members Anne Owen, who went by the pastoral name of Lucasia, and Mary Aubrey, who was known as Rosania. A series of letters, exchanged by Philips and her friend, Sir Charles Cotterell, between 6 December 1661 and 17 May 1664, were recovered and published in 1705, under the title Letters from Orinda to Poliarchus. Hints of homoerotic feelings can be found throughout this correspondance, notably within an exchange referring to Philips' attempt to convince her friend Owen to marry Sir Charles in order to keep her nearby, as Owen was, at the time, engaged and planning to move to Dublin with one Marcus Trevor. This attempt would ultimately prove unsuccessful.