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Elizabeth Barrett Browning: A Biography
Drawing upon a newly discovered diary and hundreds of letters, the author reevaluates the conventional notions of the poet, finding her a strong and determined woman and providing a detailed picture of her childhood
400 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1988
12 people are currently reading
397 people want to read
About the author
Margaret Forster
67 books197 followersMargaret Forster was educated at the Carlisle and County High School for Girls. From here she won an Open Scholarship to Somerville College, Oxford where in 1960 she was awarded an honours degree in History.
From 1963 Margaret Forster worked as a novelist, biographer and freelance literary critic, contributing regularly to book programmes on television, to Radio 4 and various newpapers and magazines.
Forster was married to the writer, journalist and broadcaster Hunter Davies. They lived in London. and in the Lake District. They had three children, Caitlin, Jake and Flora.
From 1963 Margaret Forster worked as a novelist, biographer and freelance literary critic, contributing regularly to book programmes on television, to Radio 4 and various newpapers and magazines.
Forster was married to the writer, journalist and broadcaster Hunter Davies. They lived in London. and in the Lake District. They had three children, Caitlin, Jake and Flora.
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
July 16, 2023
{3.5 stars}
Elizabeth Barrett Browning is an English poet who grew up in Victorian England. Her best-known works are Aurora Leigh and Sonnets from a Portuguese. She lived the same time as Charlotte Bronte but they never met.
Margaret Forster wrote a biography of Elizabeth Barrett Browning long after the emergence of new materials found from 1960s onwards. The introduction explains the purpose of it is to understand her poems better.
I have only read Sonnets from a Portuguese, and reading this has given me better context, and will soon read Aurora Leigh.
The biography is earthy, and doesn’t always show Elizabeth Barrett Browning in a flattering light. Margaret Forster, who clearly likes Elizabeth Barrett Browning, does not stop from giving an honest account, where sometimes it's brutally honest, but I also wonder if it's a touch harsh without meaning it to be? There is room in the biography for even a little social commentary to give a rounder understanding of Elizabeth Barrett Browning.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning may not have been perfect, but it’s remarkable what she achieved: she learnt to speak and read Greek (when she did not have the same education as her brothers), she translated works to improve her own writing, and persevered to polish her craft.
To her last day, Robert Browning, her husband, never stops loving her.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s writings would go on to inspire and motivate other women to become professional writers.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning is an English poet who grew up in Victorian England. Her best-known works are Aurora Leigh and Sonnets from a Portuguese. She lived the same time as Charlotte Bronte but they never met.
Margaret Forster wrote a biography of Elizabeth Barrett Browning long after the emergence of new materials found from 1960s onwards. The introduction explains the purpose of it is to understand her poems better.
I have only read Sonnets from a Portuguese, and reading this has given me better context, and will soon read Aurora Leigh.
The biography is earthy, and doesn’t always show Elizabeth Barrett Browning in a flattering light. Margaret Forster, who clearly likes Elizabeth Barrett Browning, does not stop from giving an honest account, where sometimes it's brutally honest, but I also wonder if it's a touch harsh without meaning it to be? There is room in the biography for even a little social commentary to give a rounder understanding of Elizabeth Barrett Browning.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning may not have been perfect, but it’s remarkable what she achieved: she learnt to speak and read Greek (when she did not have the same education as her brothers), she translated works to improve her own writing, and persevered to polish her craft.
To her last day, Robert Browning, her husband, never stops loving her.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s writings would go on to inspire and motivate other women to become professional writers.
June 2, 2015
New information on the Barrett family (1989) in the Philip Kelley collection of Barrett/Browning letters. This biography presents a much fuller picture of Elizabeth Barrett Browning than was ever possible before, as it draws on hundreds of newly discovered letters and a diary written by the poet at age twenty-six. "Ba" was a remarkable women during the Victorian era.
August 15, 2021
Solid and groundbreaking (in its time) biography of the poet, though the newly released Two-Way Mirror: The Life of Elizabeth Barrett Browning will likely be a more streamlined and relevant bio. This contains all the details, and did so for the first time when it was published 30 years ago. It corrects myths and legends about the Barrett household, but I also find myself sympathizing much with her, at least in this version. Still, an important book for her appreciators and scholars.
March 1, 2016
This is a good model for any biographer. Forster reveals EBB in all her complexity. She debunks the story from the drama based upon EBB's father as an ogre stifling her life. She also reveals how EBB was complicit in her invalidism.
The first section is based upon recently discovered letters and diaries. EBB was the eldest in a large family that isolated itself and as a result developed intense dependencies on one another. Family wealth came from Jamaican slave plantations. Her father was exceptional in his love and attendance upon his children and they reciprocated even more after their mother died.
When loss of some income shifted them to London, all went and remained at home as adults. Even the sons were held enthralled by Mr B. She used her illnesses to gain special privileges and attention. She was not tubercular, as has often been said.
It turns out Robert Browning was as naive, living with his parents into his 30s. Their meeting seems star struck. The second half explores their marriage, most of it lived in Europe. They had one child when she was in her mid forties. Forster examines EBBs stubborn, often irrational character. She accepted spiritualism, absurd political beliefs, and strange child rearing choices. Despite a steady thread of women's mistreatment in her writings, she was blind with regard to treatment of devoted servants.
Forster does not attend much to the poetry itself. I wanted more with regard to her contributions--she was much admired by Dickinson, among others. But we don't learn why. This wasn't intended to be a literary biography, still it is too brief regarding poetic style and innovations.
Robert is also not as fleshed out as I'd have liked. She seems to have dominated him, repeated her father's controlling manner, a mistaken expression of love.
These quibbles aside, I highly recommend this enlightening and well written account. It deserves its best British biography honor.
The first section is based upon recently discovered letters and diaries. EBB was the eldest in a large family that isolated itself and as a result developed intense dependencies on one another. Family wealth came from Jamaican slave plantations. Her father was exceptional in his love and attendance upon his children and they reciprocated even more after their mother died.
When loss of some income shifted them to London, all went and remained at home as adults. Even the sons were held enthralled by Mr B. She used her illnesses to gain special privileges and attention. She was not tubercular, as has often been said.
It turns out Robert Browning was as naive, living with his parents into his 30s. Their meeting seems star struck. The second half explores their marriage, most of it lived in Europe. They had one child when she was in her mid forties. Forster examines EBBs stubborn, often irrational character. She accepted spiritualism, absurd political beliefs, and strange child rearing choices. Despite a steady thread of women's mistreatment in her writings, she was blind with regard to treatment of devoted servants.
Forster does not attend much to the poetry itself. I wanted more with regard to her contributions--she was much admired by Dickinson, among others. But we don't learn why. This wasn't intended to be a literary biography, still it is too brief regarding poetic style and innovations.
Robert is also not as fleshed out as I'd have liked. She seems to have dominated him, repeated her father's controlling manner, a mistaken expression of love.
These quibbles aside, I highly recommend this enlightening and well written account. It deserves its best British biography honor.
November 1, 2017
This was a very well-written and apparently well-researched biography. Unfortunately, as enjoyable as it was to read, I found myself less and less in sympathy with its subject. Elizabeth Barrett Browning was no doubt brilliant and talented, but she was also—judging by this biography at least—self-centered, hypocritical and wholly lacking in self-awareness. For instance, EBB "saw herself as a democrat, the supporter of the oppressed" but whenever she had a chance to demonstrate this commitment in her own life, she failed to live up to her principles—refusing her maid a deserved increase in wages (after 10+ years of service at the same low wage) and forcing that same maid to choose between returning to Italy with the Brownings (and her husband) or stay in England with her newborn baby.
No doubt hers and Robert's was a great love story, but it was hard sometimes not to think that his devotion deserved a more worthy object.
Nowhere in Elizabeth's correspondence at the time did she express any compassion for [her maid's] agony. The mother who adored her own child and had been overwhelmed by the violence of maternal feeling, and the poet who was about to publish a poem full of the tenderness of women for children and a defence of the exploited working-class girl, both seemed untouched by her own maid's anguish.Equally unattractive was the way she insisted on raising her son—treating him as if he were a plaything, keeping him in velvet and curls long past the age it was acceptable, and refusing to discipline him (or let anyone else do so). He must have been an insufferable brat.
No doubt hers and Robert's was a great love story, but it was hard sometimes not to think that his devotion deserved a more worthy object.
October 1, 2014
Barrett comes across as something of a neurotic. In her early life she had some reason to need protection, as a result of her health and such, but she seems to have got to the point of self-imposed exile within her own room, until Browning came along. Even after that she's a curious mix of intelligence and oddity, writing in her poems in one voice, while behaving in real life in another.
Forster's biography, however, is a marvellous book covering immense detail (the Brownings wrote innumerable letters that are still available, plus diaries and other notes) and gives as complete a picture of the woman as is possible. I can't say I came out of the book liking her very much; there were a number of things she didn't do well (hardly unusual for any person) and while her poetry obviously made a big impact at times, and some of it has continued to do so, it's not easy to separate it from its Victorian background. I can't say that the book has made me more desirous to read her poetry.
I think perhaps it's the other 'characters' in the book who make it so interesting. Browning himself is a bit of a curiosity, and their son, 'Pen' though much indulged by his mother eventually as an adult redeemed any failings he might have had. Wilson, the longstanding personal maid, was a strong-minded young woman who managed to survive her years with the Brownings in spite of their poor treatment of her overall, and the various brothers and sisters are all well-drawn in the book.
Certainly this is an exemplary biography.
Forster's biography, however, is a marvellous book covering immense detail (the Brownings wrote innumerable letters that are still available, plus diaries and other notes) and gives as complete a picture of the woman as is possible. I can't say I came out of the book liking her very much; there were a number of things she didn't do well (hardly unusual for any person) and while her poetry obviously made a big impact at times, and some of it has continued to do so, it's not easy to separate it from its Victorian background. I can't say that the book has made me more desirous to read her poetry.
I think perhaps it's the other 'characters' in the book who make it so interesting. Browning himself is a bit of a curiosity, and their son, 'Pen' though much indulged by his mother eventually as an adult redeemed any failings he might have had. Wilson, the longstanding personal maid, was a strong-minded young woman who managed to survive her years with the Brownings in spite of their poor treatment of her overall, and the various brothers and sisters are all well-drawn in the book.
Certainly this is an exemplary biography.
April 23, 2018
I loved this book. Margaret Forster's stated purpose in writing this biography was to bring more attention to EBB, and her voice is so charming and empathetic, that she more than achieves her goal. I came to this book more out of curiosity, but I then fell in love with EBB and RB and their eternal love for each other and could not put the book down. EBB was a complex being: brilliant, flawed in some ways and pure in others, and her unusual life and the impact on her poetry is brought alive in these pages. Forster was fortunate in having a treasure trove of primary sources in the form of copious letters that had come to light since previous biographies. The book reflects her research but never in a tiresome way. I am now beginning to read EBBs poetry, and will read her diary and some letters as well.
August 31, 2014
A great read. Interesting how Barrett Browning went on and on about how unfair life was for women, and then treated her loyal servant, Wilson, like garbage, forcing her to choose between her husband and her child. What a hypocrite she was. But no one remembers that, only her great poetry.
November 13, 2025
I have long loved the poetry of Elizabeth Barrett Browning (and particularly her "Sonnets From the Portuguese" - a collection of love poems written to the man who was to become her husband, fellow poet Robert Browning). But other than knowing she suffered from ill health most of her life and died young, I knew little about her life. Margaret Forster's sympathetic and beautifully written biography has put that right.
Divided into two parts, the first part deals with her life from her birth in 1806 to her elopement with Robert Browning in 1846 and the second part with her life with Robert until her death in 1861.
In the first part we discover how her mother died young, a death her father never got over. We learn that her family's money came primarily from her father's Jamaican plantations worked by slaves and how the emancipation of the slaves led to a loss of income. Elizabeth became a life-long opponent of slavery.
Despite becoming a successful poet, her father allowed her little freedom, and that combined with bouts of ill health meant she spent most of her time indoors. She was herself nervous about meeting new people. When she met and fell in love with fellow poet Robert Browning, a love that was mutual, she knew that her father would never countenance her marrying (just as he later opposed his other daughters marrying). So Elizabeth and Robert married in secret and eloped to Italy, where she spent the rest of her life apart from occasional trips to Paris and London. Her father never forgave her, refused to speak to her again and never read her letters to him.
In Italy (mainly in Florence) she had a number of miscarriages but also gave birth to a son who was named Pen and who was indulged by both his parents and Elizabeth's maid Wilson. Elizabeth was a supporter of greater rights for women as well as a supporter of some radical political movements. However, like all of us, she was a mass of contradictions and despite her views on freedom and rights, when her maid Wilson became pregnant, Elizabeth gave her an ultimatum: she either left her employment to look after her child or found a relative to care for the child in order to retain her position in the Browning household.
Although most famous for her love sonnets (and particularly Sonnet 43, which begins "How do I love thee? Let me count the ways), she also wrote much else including the long prose poem "Aurora Leigh", the highly political "Poems Before Congress" and translations of Greek classics.
In a moving final chapter, we discover that her last words were to tell Robert she loved him and her last conscious action was to kiss him.
Divided into two parts, the first part deals with her life from her birth in 1806 to her elopement with Robert Browning in 1846 and the second part with her life with Robert until her death in 1861.
In the first part we discover how her mother died young, a death her father never got over. We learn that her family's money came primarily from her father's Jamaican plantations worked by slaves and how the emancipation of the slaves led to a loss of income. Elizabeth became a life-long opponent of slavery.
Despite becoming a successful poet, her father allowed her little freedom, and that combined with bouts of ill health meant she spent most of her time indoors. She was herself nervous about meeting new people. When she met and fell in love with fellow poet Robert Browning, a love that was mutual, she knew that her father would never countenance her marrying (just as he later opposed his other daughters marrying). So Elizabeth and Robert married in secret and eloped to Italy, where she spent the rest of her life apart from occasional trips to Paris and London. Her father never forgave her, refused to speak to her again and never read her letters to him.
In Italy (mainly in Florence) she had a number of miscarriages but also gave birth to a son who was named Pen and who was indulged by both his parents and Elizabeth's maid Wilson. Elizabeth was a supporter of greater rights for women as well as a supporter of some radical political movements. However, like all of us, she was a mass of contradictions and despite her views on freedom and rights, when her maid Wilson became pregnant, Elizabeth gave her an ultimatum: she either left her employment to look after her child or found a relative to care for the child in order to retain her position in the Browning household.
Although most famous for her love sonnets (and particularly Sonnet 43, which begins "How do I love thee? Let me count the ways), she also wrote much else including the long prose poem "Aurora Leigh", the highly political "Poems Before Congress" and translations of Greek classics.
In a moving final chapter, we discover that her last words were to tell Robert she loved him and her last conscious action was to kiss him.
April 20, 2022
I wanted to read a more traditional biography as an antidote to Fiona Sampson's book. This fit the bill. Forster's best work comes in the sections where she compares what EBB was telling different people in different letters at the same time - it is clear that she was not the caged bird of legend but that she found it easier to just hide at home and see no one. The miracle was that Robert Browning ever got to see her at all. It was not until she wanted something beyond writing in a room at the top of her father's house, that her interests and her father's permanently diverged. Having had a great aunt who similarly wanted none of her children to ever marry (two of them ran away to get married and the other three never bothered), it was interesting to see how Mr Barrett attempted to keep his daughters forever at home and his sons engaged in the family business (running a Jamaican sugar plantation with slave labor).
Forster makes much less of EBB's relationship with Hugh Stuart Boyd than Sampson does. I'm not sure why that is, but I was fairly convinced by Sampson's interpretation.
Oddly, I came away from this book finding EBB much less likable than I did from the other. Despite holding fairly radical political beliefs, she never could see her servants as people with the same needs she had. She could be annoyingly self centered. I was never entirely sure when Forster was implying she was a hypochondriac.
Still, if you are looking for a biography and can only read one, read this one, and read Sampson's later. This one is more complete, and does justice to the Brownings' marriage.
Forster makes much less of EBB's relationship with Hugh Stuart Boyd than Sampson does. I'm not sure why that is, but I was fairly convinced by Sampson's interpretation.
Oddly, I came away from this book finding EBB much less likable than I did from the other. Despite holding fairly radical political beliefs, she never could see her servants as people with the same needs she had. She could be annoyingly self centered. I was never entirely sure when Forster was implying she was a hypochondriac.
Still, if you are looking for a biography and can only read one, read this one, and read Sampson's later. This one is more complete, and does justice to the Brownings' marriage.
September 6, 2019
I love the way Margaret Forster explores character and history and looks at previous accounts of people’s lives and reevaluates. This was a fascinating story from start to finish. However, the problem with biographies is that you always feel sad at the end. You have got to know the character of the subject so well, shared their triumphs and disappointments and then you have to witness their decline. I felt thrilled by EBB’s escape to Italy and the joy she found in married life and motherhood (though she got a lot of help!). Yet she also paid a huge price separated from her family for many years and some good friends. Also terrible that she was never forgiven by her father.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 4, 2024
An interesting primer into the thought processes and character of the poetess, with little of what I was looking for: the quiet passion that created her sonnets. The biography suffered under the weightless amount of nonexistent personal information, but it did enlighten me to the day to day life of an expatriate in Italy at the time of Napoleon. Worth the time, but my desire remains unsated.
October 13, 2020
She was an interesting person and she and Robert Browning were a great love story. It was a long read, but not difficult. The history of what was happening in Italy and England at the time was fascinating.
September 10, 2017
Margaret Forster writes a solid and engaging biography. If you are at all interested in the life of the Barrett-Brownings, I recommend it.
July 10, 2018
A true love story. Started late and ended sadly early, but a pleasure to read about the melding of these two hearts and minds. Probably the greatest love I’ve ever read about.
January 11, 2022
The most romantic biography I've read.... though E.B.B certainly had an interesting life prior to her relatively late marriage.
August 1, 2024
Noting for later:
"Song"
"Flush or Fanus"
"Life"
"Question and Answer"
"A Prospect of Florence"
"Song"
"Flush or Fanus"
"Life"
"Question and Answer"
"A Prospect of Florence"
November 18, 2024
Browning's life has been painted in such incredible detail and with reliable sources for accuracy. I felt I really got to know her.
September 18, 2008
I read a biography of EBB some time ago that was quite good and I'm hoping this is the one, being that I have forgotten the author (a big no-no). I found it historically interesting in the sense that it showed how women writers were considered in Victorian times. What I dis covered though was that, in spite of her courage, in spite of her aim for the highest quality of writing, I found EBB cloying and spoiled. Perhaps she was a victim of her illness and how it was treated at the time, but she just simply annoyed me. There you have it.
August 22, 2009
I really enjoyed this book. I loved the relationship between Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Robert Browning. I learned much. This story was told from the view point of Wilson the maid who worked for Elizabeth over 16 years. Their relationship was very close and loving. If you want to travel with the Browning as the elope or to their home in Italy, this is the book for you.
November 13, 2014
This was a very comprehensive biography of Elizabeth and she did not come out as a very nice person.
She was very like her father autocratic, selfish and did not treat her servants very well. She may have been a great poet but she was extremely manipulative. This book explodes the myth of Barretts of Wimpole Street.
She was very like her father autocratic, selfish and did not treat her servants very well. She may have been a great poet but she was extremely manipulative. This book explodes the myth of Barretts of Wimpole Street.
November 16, 2013
An extraordinary story about an extraordinary poet. Her birth family was rather bizarre. The way she later married and raised her child was definitely non-conventional. Interesting but you feel rather detached reading it - too difficult for the modern reader to relate to her circumstances.
May 1, 2016
Really a 2.5. I'm realizing that most biographies have waaaay to many details, that sometimes appear to be repetitive. I can say that Elizabeth Barrett browning appeared to be very hypocritical with her thoughts/works and her actions, particularly towards her maid, Wilson and her sister Arabel.
November 6, 2008
Wonderful ,she also wrote "Lady's Maid ",a great link to the Biography of Elizabeth Barrett Browning even though it is fiction
December 13, 2011
I really loved this. A sweet, fantastic, wild and true love story of real life! So good!
May 19, 2013
I love a true romance, and this one reads as love in the most companionable, devoted and spiritual sense. Her death is the stuff of legend.
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December 28, 2015Good read for a biography.
This is the book to read if you want to know about her amazing life and death as a poet mother and wife
This is the book to read if you want to know about her amazing life and death as a poet mother and wife
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews