[1] She was the daughter of Edward Bulstrode (1550–1595) and Cecily Croke; she was a cousin of Lucy Russell, Countess of Bedford, in whose household she was a member in 1605.
In June 1608 Bulstrode's mother Cecily married again, to Sir John Brown of Flamberds, at Cold Norton, Essex.
Bulstrode and her youngest sister Dorothy, later Lady Eyre, moved up with Lucy Russell, becoming Maidens of the Queen's Bedchamber.
[8] During her time at the court of Anne of Denmark, Bulstrode became the subject of works by poets such as Ben Jonson who threatened her reputation with rumours of promiscuity.
[7] Other writers, including John Donne, used the event of her death as an opportunity to gain favor with her friend and patron of the literary arts, the countess of Bedford.
[7] The poem takes the viewpoint of a man who rejects the advances of his female friend because he doesn't want to ruin their friendship "for one poor hour’s love.
Her illness was diagnosed by doctors of the College of Medicine as "the mother" also called the "wandering womb", an imprecise diagnosis for ailments thought to attend upon feminine frailty.
[7] In a letter to Sir Henry Goodyere, John Donne reported on her condition;"I fear earnestly that Mistress Boulstred will not escape that sickness in which she labors at this time.
I sent this morning to ask of her passage of this night; and the return is, that she is as I left her yesternight... [I] fear that she will scare last so long as that you, when you receive this letter, may do her any good office in praying for her.”[7][10]According to Dr. Francis Anthony, who was called upon by Bulstrode's mother after treatment under the College of Medicine physicians was unsuccessful, she showed improvement in symptoms in her final days, "for in all the other administering of this medicine ... her spirits were relieved!
[7] In death, Bulstrode's body became a theme of court poets who competed for the literary matronage of her Lucy Russell, countess of Bedford.
[13][7] Lucy Russell's favour was highly valued, as she had a large amount of power and leverage at court as first Lady of the Queen's Bedchamber.
[7] The most well-known of his literary jabs at Bulstrode is his Epigram on the Court Pucell which has been called a "disturbingly ‘personal’ attack on a woman.
[7] In 1619, in a conversation with the Scottish poet, William Drummond of Hawthonden, Jonson claimed that his epigram was stolen out of his pocket when he was drunk and given to Bulstrode, which he had not wanted to happen.
[7] However, another reading of the poem is that rather than a direct criticism of Bulstrode, the work was intended to evoke a "generic court pucelle", and by that means, an image of the false world.
[7] Jonson may have been frustrated by this apparent "inversion of traditional gender codes", so he used the "trope of prostitution" to reassert his position of power as a male.
[21] Donne's second Elegy addresses Sorrow personified, Bulstrode in life was a gem, clear and pure like a blue sapphire;Sorrow, to whom we owe all that we be,Tyrant, in the fifth and greatest monarchy,Was't, that she did possess all hearts before,Thou hast killed her, to make thy empire more?Knew'st thou some would, that knew her not, lament,As in a deluge perish th'innocent?Was't not enough to have that palace won,But thou must raze it too, that was undone?Hadst thou stayed there, and looked out at her eyes,All had adored thee that now from thee flies,For they let out more light, than they took in,They told not when, but did the day begin;She was too sapphirine, and clear for thee;Clay, flint, and jet now thy fit dwellings be;Alas, she was too pure, but not too weak;Whoe'er saw crystal ordinance but would break?
Several of them are humorous criticisms of court and of people who claim to be religious:[7] Toward the end she writes: "That a man with a female wit is the worst hermaphrodite".
This is perhaps the most memorable line, and has been interpreted by many as a jab at Ben Jonson, who "had a career-long interest in hermaphroditism" according to Foster and Banton, as evident in his works Cynthia’s Revels, Volpone, and Epicoene.
"[8] News of My Morning Work was likely written around 1609, but did not rise to prominence until it was published amongst other short pieces as a supplement to Sir Thomas Overbury’s A Wife in 1615, which became "an instant bestseller."
"[3] According to Price, Bulstrode wrote the piece in the style conforming to what Halli calls "a precise formula, which includes a declarative beginning, a series of noun clauses, conceited similes and metaphors, and an effective concluding praise.