Author: Julia Markus
Publisher: Knopf
ISBN: 030783297X
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 384
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Book Description
A Riveting and brilliant work of biography. The story of two great English poets, Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning, whose work was immediately recognized and adored by their contemporaries, whose courtship ranks with the great love stories of all time -- and in whose marriage romance was not merely sustained but intensified. We enter their story through the sealed Victorian world of the Barretts of Wimpole Street: Elizabeth, at thirty-nine, a poet of international fame, a child prodigy who had grown to be a middle-aged spinster, a woman for whom romantic love seemed not to be possible, confined by illness, morphine, and the tyranny of her father, scion of rich Jamaican slaveholders, rum and sugar traders. It is to this fortress that Robert Browning, already an admired young poet and playwright, already a devotee of Elizabeth's, lays siege. ("I love your verses," he had written Elizabeth in his first letter to her, long before they met. "I love your verses with all my heart -- and I love you too.") And miraculously Elizabeth let life in. Julia Markus chronicles their extraordinary courtship, their marriage in secret (Browning to Elizabeth: "How you have dared and done all this ... for my only sake?"), and their radiant honeymoon in Italy. Markus shows us how the political events of the times inspired the great dramatic monologues of Robert's middle years and how Italy's stormy reunification inspired Elizabeth's later work. We come to see Elizabeth as an artist with a fierce and final confidence in poetry and its effect on the poets' lives. We see husband and wife celebrate the birth of their son, Robert Wiedemann "Pen" Barrett Browning (Browning to her sisters: "I sate by [Elizabeth] as much as I was allowed, and I shall never forget what I saw, tho' I cannot speak about it"). We see them among their artist/writer friends: in London with Tennyson, Thackeray, Rossetti, and others; in Rome with William Story, the American lawyer, poet, sculptor; with Harriet Hosmer, the stonecutter, who was one of the models for Aurora Leigh; with Charlotte Cushman, the American actress, who held readings of Elizabeth's novel in verse. We see Elizabeth in Paris meeting her heroine George Sand, whose society of socialists and theatrical types Robert described as "ragged Red." We come to understand Elizabeth's dependence on the ever-present drug in her life ("I should not be alive except by help of my morphine") and her constant battle with depression. And we see Elizabeth, encouraged by a woman with whom she was infatuated, move from interest to obsession with spiritualism, a cause that became the only source of serious dissension between the Brownings. We follow the course of their rich marriage, from the beginning when each saw the other as a brilliant poet, a compassionate and strangely similar heart, through the years in which they discovered each other's differences, each remaining a complex and thrilling human being to the other. To tell their story, Markus for the first time makes use of much of Elizabeth's unpublished correspondence, amid a wealth of other documents. She delves fully into the Brownings' Creole background and shows how it affected their lives and their work (Elizabeth was the first of the Jamaican Barretts to be born in England in many generations). Brilliantly interweaving the Brownings' own words with her authentic and perceptive narrative, Julia Markus brings these two great poets -- their marriage, their work, their times -- alive as never before.
Author: Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Publisher: Broadview Press
ISBN: 1460400895
Category : Poetry
Languages : en
Pages : 393
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Book Description
One of the leading poets of the nineteenth century, Elizabeth Barrett Browning had a profound influence on her contemporaries and on writers that followed her. This edition provides a rich and varied selection of Barrett Browning’s poetry, including relatively neglected material from her early career and works never before included in editions of her poetry. The edition is comprehensively annotated and includes a critical introduction; detailed headnotes for each poem also provide the reader with a deep understanding of the historical, biographical, and literary contexts in which the poems were written. The extensive appendices include reviews and criticism and material on factory reform and slavery, as well as religion and the Italian Question.
Author: Stopford A. Brooke
Publisher: Atlantic Publishers & Dist
ISBN: 9788171569182
Category : Browning, Robert, 1812-1889
Languages : en
Pages : 344
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Book Description
The Poetry Of Robert Browning Is A Major Study Of Browning And His Art. It Marks An Improvement Over The Earlier Studies Of Browning S Poetry In That Its Author Stopford A. Brooke Provides Abundant Information On The Victorian Age With Browning As The Focal Point. Each Chapter Of The Book Constitutes An Elaborate And Methodical Analysis Of Browning And His Works, Often From A Historical Perspective. The Contents Of The Book Have Been So Arranged As To Bring Out The Thematic Coherence And Continuity Of Development In Browning S Art. The Themes Studied Include: Nature, Human Life, Art, Womanhood, Passion Of Love And Renaissance.An Interesting Feature Of The Book Is That A Separate Chapter Has Been Devoted To Browning S Dramas. Throughout The Book The Author Endeavours To Draw Comparison Between Browning And His Contemporaries And Predecessors Such As Tennyson And Sordello. The Comparative And Contrastive Method Throws Much Light On The Continued Relevance And Universality Of Browning.This Book Is A Comprehensive And Well-Argued Study Of Browning S Poetical Works. It Will Be Of Special Use To Teachers And Students Apart From Scholars And Researchers Interested In Browning S Poetry.
Author: Ron Grainer
Publisher: Samuel French Limited
ISBN:
Category : Drama
Languages : en
Pages : 124
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Book Description
The year 1845 finds the Moulton Barrett family of London tight in the grip of a tyrannical father. His invalid daughter Elizabeth is gaining a brilliant reputation as a writer. Her verses reach Robert Browning who falls in love with her before they have ever met. Browning sweeps into Elizabeth's life with the invigorating force of a sea breeze and her father senses that his absolute authority is in danger. Tension mounts as Edward Moulton Barrett and Robert Browning engage in a struggle for Elizabeth's life and happiness. A big hit in London's West End.10 women, 30 men
Author: Robert Browning
Publisher: Heinemann Educational Books
ISBN:
Category : Literary Collections
Languages : en
Pages : 268
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Book Description
Author: Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Publisher: Dorset Press
ISBN: 9781566198073
Category : Poetry
Languages : en
Pages : 300
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Book Description
Author: Ronald Tamplin
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780895776495
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 164
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Book Description
This collection of 35 of the most moving, interesting, sometimes controversial, always entertaining love letters ever written includes complete biographies, plus portraits or photographs of the writers and their recipients, dating as far back as the first century A.D. 400 illustrations.
Author: Margaret Forster
Publisher: Vintage Classics
ISBN: 9780099768616
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 402
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Book Description
The story of Elizabeth Barrett Browning has become part of literary mythology - the invalid kept locked up in Wimpole Street by a tyrannical father until her elopement and flight to Italy at the age of forty. In this important biography, Margaret Forster challenges the legend, introducing us to another Elizabeth Barrett Browning, one who was no frail and terrified daughter but a woman as strong and determined as her father and responsible in a large part for her own incarceration.
Author: Robert Browning
Publisher: Good Press
ISBN:
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 994
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Book Description
The Love Letters of Elizabeth Barrett Browning & Robert Browning stand as a testament to the enduring power of love, artfully revealed through the intimate correspondence between two of the Victorian era's most distinguished poets. This collection traverses the dichotomy of societal constraints and the unfettered spirit of passionate affection, offering readers a profound glimpse into the private lives and literary minds that produced some of the most venerable poetry of the 19th century. The letters themselves are a mosaic of poetic musings, intellectual discourse, and burgeoning romance, showcasing a relationship that defied contemporary norms and influenced the literary output of both writers. The anthology celebrates not only the personal romance between Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning but also their significant contributions to English literature, each author bringing their unique voice to the epistolary genre. As contemporaries working under the heavy influence of Romanticism while foreshadowing the realist concerns of the Victorian age, their letters provide invaluable insight into the transition between literary epochs, embodying both the personal and the universal in poetic expression. For enthusiasts of literature, history, and romance, this collection offers a unique opportunity to explore the confluence of love and artistry through the lens of two literary giants. Readers are invited to immerse themselves in the depth of emotion and the elegance of form that define these letters, witnessing firsthand the reflective and transformative power of written expression in shaping both personal destiny and literary tradition.
Author: Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing Inc.
ISBN: 1620873664
Category : Family & Relationships
Languages : en
Pages : 209
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Book Description
The love affair between two of the Victorian era's most famous poets is one of passion, tragedy, illness, and ultimately, endurance. Collected here are their love letters, which capture their courtship, their blossoming love, and their forbidden marriage. This is the story of one of history’s great love affairs. The relationship between Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Robert Browning began in his admiring her poetry. His audacious first letter moves from loving her books to loving her. She was alarmed by his "extravagance", and worried that he might substitute lioness-worship for real feeling. Much of her hesitation came from knowing that love can bring injury as well as boon. She had suffered such injury. The fullness of their love is revealed in these letters.
