ABSTRACT
Lesbia Brandon has often been analysed for its autobiographical elements, the heroine variously identified with Christina Rossetti and Mary Gordon. Lesbia’s symptoms are close to accounts of consumption, with the proviso that Algernon Charles Swinburne suppressed those details that would spoil the aesthetic effect. If Swinburne is drawing upon his experience of watching Edith die of consumption, perhaps these were his own feelings. The experience of profound power-lessness and injustice confirmed Swinburne’s anti-theism, expressed in the anger against God of many of the poems published in 1866. His emotions in turmoil, grieving for Edith and desperate for consolation, it would not be surprising if their relationship now flowered and his feelings toward her intensified. Swinburne had acknowledged John William Inchbold’s invitation earlier that month, saying how eager he was to enjoy the sea. Inchbold became a friend of Coventry Patmore and later published a book of poetry, Annus Amoris.
