Victorian Women Poets: An Anthology

I originally bought this book for a college class I was taking; however, I have since read and re-read many parts of it again and again. It is deeply insightful and covers most of the "known" Victorian Women Poets and some you may not have heard of. There are chapters on Elizabeth Barrett Browning; Christina Rossetti; Felicia Hemans; Michael Field (Katherine Bradley and Edith Cooper); Alice Meynell; Charlotte Mew; Augusta Webster; and Letitia Elizabeth Landon. The author and scholar Angela Leighton provides historical background along with the poets' verse and how they combine and merge to make a whole. Leighton states in her Introduction, "women's poetry of the nineteenth century, much more than the novel, was written and read as part of a self-consciously female tradition."

Many of the greatest Victorian poets have been ignored or been paid lip serice by the canon, simply because they were women. This anthology seeks to correct that. A great starting point for anyone searching for research topics, this book is also wonderful just to have on hand for browsing. The editors give lengthy biographies of each poet and criticial interpretations of some the poems that have been included. This book is invaluable to anyone who is curious about what's been hidden all these years