In the spring of 1863, the Victorian literary world witnessed a phenomenon that would become increasingly rare in the annals of English poetry: the overnight success of a provincial poet whose work captured both popular imagination and critical acclaim. Jean Ingelow, a banker's daughter from the Lincolnshire fens, achieved what many seasoned writers could only dream of—instant fame through a single collection of poem…
“I am glad to think I am not bound to make the world go right, but only to discover and to do, with cheerful heart, the work that God appoints.”
Neighbourhood:
Love Poets, Nature Poets, Victorian Poets, Women Poets
Emotional landscape: Longing, Tenderness, Wonder
Lydia Huntley Sigourney, born Lydia Howard Huntley on 1 September 1791 in Norwich, Connecticut, became one of the most widely read, industrious, and culturally influential American writers of the nineteenth century. During the height of her career, her poems were printed in newspapers and magazines, memorized by schoolchildren, recited at funerals, quoted from pulpits, and displayed in family albums. She wrote for re…
“My mind was made up never to leave my parents. I felt that their absorbing love could never be repaid by the longest life-service.”
Neighbourhood:
American Poets, Devotional Poets, Hymn Writers, Romantic Poets, Women Poets
Emotional landscape: Sorrow, Despair, Spirituality
