Author: Marston, Robert
Biography:
MARSTON, Robert (fl 1614)
A prior author about whom there is no reliable information. His poem lamenting the death of Thomas Grey, 15th Baron Grey of Wilton (1575-1614), was first published from manuscript in a Roxburghe Club edition in 1822. No other publications are associated with this author and he does not appear to have been related to his famous contemporary, the dramatist John Marston (1575-1634). Grey died a prisoner in the Tower on 9 July 1614, having narrowly escaped execution for treason—his involvement in the Bye Plot against James I—in 1603. Marston might be the young man of that name who matriculated at Trinity College, Cambridge, in or about 1594, did not proceed to a degree, and lived until 1674, but corroboration is lacking. (“Grey, Thomas [1575-1614],” ODNB 31 Mar. 2023; ACAD)