Mistress Mary, Quite Contrary

For works with similar titles, see Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary.

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Mistress Mary, Quite Contrary

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English nursery rhyme (Roud 19626). The rhyme has been seen as having religious and historical significance, but its origins and meaning are disputed. The oldest known version was first published in Tommy Thumb's Pretty Song Book (1744).

2133319Mistress Mary, Quite Contrary

Versions of Mistress Mary, Quite Contrary include:

"Mrs. Mary" in Tommy Thumb's Pretty Song Book by Nurse Lovechild (1744)
"Mary, Mary, quite contrary" in Nursery Rhymes (1860)
"M" in The Alphabet of Old Friends by Walter Crane (1874)
"Mrs. Mary" in A Book of Nursery Songs and Rhymes by Sabine Baring-Gould (1895)
"My Lady's Garden" in The Baby's Opera by Walter Crane and Edbumd Evans (1900)
Quoted in Chapter 2 of The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett (1910)—for versions, see The Secret Garden
"Mistress Mary" in St. Nicholas Volume 40, Number 9 (1913)
"Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary" in The Real Mother Goose by Blanche Fisher Wright (1916)
"Mistress Mary, Quite Contrary" in The Child's Own Music Book by Albert Ernest Wier (1918)

See also