Dear Elizabeth, The collection Gothic Tales, edited by Laura Kranzler (2000), comprises your most famous ghost stories published from 1851 to 1861. Reading those stories is like…… Read more “Solitary and savage had been her life”
Month: October 2019
I too have my vocation,
Dear Elizabeth, In Aurora Leigh (1856), you push your protagonist to make an impossible choice between two instances of her personality: her womanhood and her art. By…… Read more “I too have my vocation,”
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Elizabeth Barrett Browning (née Elizabeth Barrett Moulton-Barrett; 6 March 1806 – 29 June 1861) was an English poet. She was educated at home. Except for some instruction in Greek…… Read more “Elizabeth Barrett Browning”
Eat me, drink me, love me
Dear Christina, Your Goblin Market (1862) is a poem which teasingly resists a fixed interpretation. Is it a feminist tale / an anti-capitalist warning / a Christian…… Read more “Eat me, drink me, love me”
Christina Rossetti
Christina Rossetti (Christina Georgina Rossetti, 5 December 1830 – 29 December 1894) was an English poet. She was the youngest of four children of Gabriele Rossetti, an…… Read more “Christina Rossetti”
Harp of wild and dream-like strain,
Dear Emily, Gondal – an imaginary island in the North Pacific, created by you and Anne and peopled with flawed, implacable characters often driven into epic battles…… Read more “Harp of wild and dream-like strain,”
My Year in Nonfiction 2019 | Victorian women writers
Hi, folks! In 2018, I started a series of posts where I made an overview of my nonfiction reading over the year, and I quite enjoyed the…… Read more “My Year in Nonfiction 2019 | Victorian women writers”
The most wonderful thing in the world must be to be a childless widow
Dear Elizabeth, Irony is your plaything in Diary of a Provincial Lady (1930), to the point where it starts to be slightly subversive. Written as a series…… Read more “The most wonderful thing in the world must be to be a childless widow”
E. M. Delafield
E. M. Delafield (pen name of Edmée Elizabeth Monica Dashwood, née Edmée Elizabeth Monica de la Pasture; 09 June 1890 – 02 December 1943) was an English author. She…… Read more “E. M. Delafield”
I should be thankful to be called a Fury,
Dear Rhoda, “A woman’s soul is such a small room”, you write at some point in your novel Belinda (1883). You will trap your eponymous protagonist in…… Read more “I should be thankful to be called a Fury,”
Two Viragos for the #1930Club
Hi, folks! As most of you know, this week, Simon and Karen are co-hosting the #1930Club, one of their regular six-monthly reading Clubs, where they encourage everyone…… Read more “Two Viragos for the #1930Club”
German Literature Month | 2019
Hi, folks! German Lit Month ist fast wieder da! Just like in previous years, Lizzy and Caroline will host the 9th GLM this coming November. During the month, their blogs…… Read more “German Literature Month | 2019”
Rhoda Broughton
Rhoda Broughton (29 November 1840 – 5 June 1920) was a Welsh writer. As the youngest daughter of a clergyman, Broughton was given a classical education at home…… Read more “Rhoda Broughton”
Before I knew I had a heart
Dear Charlotte, In Emmeline, The Orphan of the Castle (published in four volumes in 1788), we have a Cinderella-like heroine surrounded by characters who are constantly burning their…… Read more “Before I knew I had a heart”