ABSTRACT

This chapter examines a range of the responses–by both canonical writers like Wordsworth and unfamiliar ones like Mariann Dark, Martha Hanson and Thomas Gent–to Charlotte Smith's poetry in particular, including public testimonials that appeared in the periodical press following her death. It considers how these responses, which persisted into the 1820s, contributed to the myth-making that Smith's own writings –including the often intensely personal pleading prefaces to her novels–encouraged among writers who read her poetry with care and with empathy. The chapter explains a cultural study of reputation and influence that documents the extensive literary community that was united–at least briefly and circumstantially–through the common theme of Smith and her writing. The contemporary press's responses to the some authors demonstrate how very differently the culture could regard prolific women writers whose work included poetry, fiction and non-fiction prose. Echoes of Smith's sonnets are evident in the works of poets of both sexes, canonical and otherwise.