British Women Poets of the Romantic Era: An Anthology

by Paula R. Feldman (Editor)

During the Romantic period, women such as Joanna Baillie, Anna Letitia Barbauld, Felicia Hemans, Letitia Elizabeth Landon, Mary Robinson, Anna Seward, Charlotte Smith, and Mary Tighe were among the most highly respected and widely read practitioners of the art of poetry. In fact, Hemans was one of the bestselling authors of the nineteenth century, and Baillie was the foremost playwright of her time. In British Women Poets of the Romantic Era , Paula R. Feldman introduces modern readers to the range and diversity of women's poetic expression, making available more texts by more women poets of the Romantic era than have ever been collected in a single book in the twentieth century. Feldman provides detailed introductions for each of the sixty-two poets, chronicling their lives, poetic careers, and critical reputations. This groundbreaking volume not only documents the richness of their literary contributions but also changes our thinking about the poetry of the English Romantic period.

Genres: Poetry

920 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

Reviews

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very long and thorough. Not every poem is a winner, and some Romantic Era writers could be far too flowery. However, there is definitely a lot of good, creative, insightful poetry in these pages. I particularly enjoyed the biographical sketches of each poet. They not only break up the poems into manageable segments, they give a great overview of Western female life in the late 1700 and early 1800s.

[Eleni · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did not read all of it - or most of it - as it's hundreds of pages - but every biography that I read was interesting and informative and new material (except that of Robinson and Smith and Williams as I had read other biographies).