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Towards the end of her life, her lung function worsened, and she died in Florence in 1861. They had one son, Robert Barrett Browning, whom they called Pen. The couple moved to Italy in 1846, where she would live for the rest of her life. Following the wedding she was disinherited by her father and rejected by her brothers. The courtship and marriage between the two were carried out in secret, for fear of her father's disapproval. During this time she met and corresponded with the writer Robert Browning, who admired her work.

Her prolific output made her a rival to Tennyson as a candidate for poet laureate on the death of Wordsworth.īrowning's volume Poems (1844) brought her great success. She campaigned for the abolition of slavery and her work helped influence reform in child labour legislation. Living at Wimpole Street, in London, Browning wrote prolifically between 18, producing poetry, translation and prose. During this time she contracted a disease, possibly tuberculosis, which weakened her further. Browning's first adult collection The Seraphim and Other Poems was published in 1838. In the 1830s Barrett's cousin John Kenyon introduced her to prominent literary figures of the day such as William Wordsworth, Mary Russell Mitford, Samuel Taylor Coleridge Alfred, Lord Tennyson, and Thomas Carlyle. She took laudanum for the pain, which may have led to a lifelong addiction and contributed to her weak health. At 15 Browning became ill, suffering from intense head and spinal pain for the rest of her life, rendering her frail. She wrote poetry from around the age of six and this was compiled by her mother, comprising what is now one of the largest collections extant of juvenilia by any English writer. In the 1830s Barrett's cousin John Kenyon introduced her to prominent literary figures of the day such as William Wordsworth, Mary Russell Mitford, Samuel Taylor Coleridge Alfred Elizabeth Barrett Browning was one of the most respected poets of the Victorian era.īorn in County Durham, the eldest of 12 children, Browning was educated at home.

Born in County Durham, the eldest of 12 children, Browning was educated at home. Elizabeth Barrett Browning was one of the most respected poets of the Victorian era.

Elizabeth barrett browning sonnets from the portuguese 43