In February 1845, Elizabeth Barrett wrote to Robert Browning that she was contemplating “a sort of novel poem” on modern themes which would challenge the conventions of her day. But, she continued, she was “waiting for a story”. That story, which would become her great work Aurora Leigh, came to her five years later, after her marriage to Browning and after she had completed her political meditations on the Italian Risorgimento, published in 1851 as Casa Guidi Windows. The fictional autobiography of a woman poet (not herself, Barrett Browning insisted), Aurora Leigh is a bold synthesis of lyric and narrative elements, literary and social theory. It is Barrett Browning's strongest claim to fame and

This article in full comprises 1586 words but only the first 150 or so words are available to non-members.

All our articles have been written recently by experts in their field, more than 95% of them university professors. To read about membership, please click here.

Published 04 July 2003

Citation: Pollock, Mary. "Aurora Leigh". The Literary Encyclopedia. 4 July 2003.
[http://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=6473, accessed 20 November 2009.]