Bryan Waller Procter, known to generations of readers by the literary name Barry Cornwall, was born in Leeds, Yorkshire, on 21 November 1787, and died in London on 5 October 1874. He belonged to that broad, fascinating company of early nineteenth-century writers who stood close to the great Romantic generation without ever wholly entering its innermost circle. He was not a poet of Byron’s volcanic self-dramatization,…
“If life itself were not a pleasure, the utility even of its necessaries might very well be questioned.”
Neighbourhood:
Death & Mortality, Love Poets, Romantic Poets
Emotional landscape: Longing, Wonder, Tenderness
In the pantheon of Victorian literature, where giants like Tennyson and Browning cast long shadows, there existed quieter voices whose contributions to the literary landscape were no less profound for being more intimate in scope. William Canton, born on a Chinese island to colonial parents and destined to become one of Britain's most beloved children's authors, represents one such voice—a writer whose life spanned c…
Neighbourhood:
Devotional Poets, Hymn Writers, Victorian Poets
Emotional landscape: Wonder, Spirituality, Peace
