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Augusta Browne
The first comprehensive biography of any American woman musician born
before the Civil War brings to life a composer whose story is both old-fashioned and
strikingly modern.Honourable Mention, AMS H. Robert Cohen/RIPM AwardAugusta Browne's
five-decade career in music and letters reveals a gifted composer and author. Hailed as
"e;one of the most prolific women composers in the USA before 1870,"e;
Augusta Browne Garrett (c. 1820-1882) was also a dedicatedmusic educator and music
journalist. The Americanness of her story resounds across the an earnest little
girl growing up amidst a troubled family business; a young professor of music who burst onto
the New York City musical scene; and an entrepreneur who resolutely sought publication of
her music and prose to her final day. In Augusta Composer and Woman of Letters in
Nineteenth-Century America, author Bonny Miller presents Browne'sunfamiliar story, assesses
her musical works, and describes her literary publications. Browne's outsider status and
self-agency offer a potent narrative that transcends antebellum and Victorian-era norms. She
used the public arena of newspapers and magazines as conduits for her work during an era
when women were ridiculed for public speaking. And yet in many ways her persona as a
tenacious entrepreneur conflicted with her adherence to strict Christian precepts, despite
her assertion of woman's equality with man. Making use of recently digitized sheet music as
well as archives of newspapers and books of the period, Miller's narrative provides the
first-ever comprehensive, nuanced account of this notable life in American music. BONNY H.
MILLER is a pianist and independent scholar who has taught at universities in Georgia,
Florida, Louisiana, and Virginia.
before the Civil War brings to life a composer whose story is both old-fashioned and
strikingly modern.Honourable Mention, AMS H. Robert Cohen/RIPM AwardAugusta Browne's
five-decade career in music and letters reveals a gifted composer and author. Hailed as
"e;one of the most prolific women composers in the USA before 1870,"e;
Augusta Browne Garrett (c. 1820-1882) was also a dedicatedmusic educator and music
journalist. The Americanness of her story resounds across the an earnest little
girl growing up amidst a troubled family business; a young professor of music who burst onto
the New York City musical scene; and an entrepreneur who resolutely sought publication of
her music and prose to her final day. In Augusta Composer and Woman of Letters in
Nineteenth-Century America, author Bonny Miller presents Browne'sunfamiliar story, assesses
her musical works, and describes her literary publications. Browne's outsider status and
self-agency offer a potent narrative that transcends antebellum and Victorian-era norms. She
used the public arena of newspapers and magazines as conduits for her work during an era
when women were ridiculed for public speaking. And yet in many ways her persona as a
tenacious entrepreneur conflicted with her adherence to strict Christian precepts, despite
her assertion of woman's equality with man. Making use of recently digitized sheet music as
well as archives of newspapers and books of the period, Miller's narrative provides the
first-ever comprehensive, nuanced account of this notable life in American music. BONNY H.
MILLER is a pianist and independent scholar who has taught at universities in Georgia,
Florida, Louisiana, and Virginia.
475 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 1, 2020
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