skill in drawing her out. In any case, despite the inevitable gaps, we are fortunate to have such rich sources of information. The major reason for any rescue attempt, of course, is a belief in the interest the work might hold for the modern reader. Such a belief has informed the rather unusual generic choice of a hybrid mode for the present study: a cross between an anthology and a critical biography. It seemed to me that it might be hard to justify producing a book-length critical study of a writer whose works are not available in print outside major research collections; equally, the bald reprinting of an anthology gathered from her collected prose works and poems might fail to reach new readers who are quite uninformed as to the circumstances of her life. I have divided the present selection from her works chronologically into four sections: early work; middle period (The Cat’s Tail and Tales of the Factories); The Birth-day (in its entirety); last poems. Details of the editions followed are given in the headnotes. Any editorial interven­ tion is minimal, and fully documented. The old-fashioned spelling con­ vention of replacing ‘e’ with an apostrophe (‘whisp’ring’; ‘wat’ry’; etc) has been modernised. It was old-fashioned even at the time, and it is not known whether it was her choice or Blackwood’s. Because I believe her prose writings, although widely popular at the time, are now mainly of historic interest, I have placed only a small selection in an appendix. Interlarding the poetry sections can be found short essays on different aspects of Caroline Bowles Southey’s literary career, beginning with an account of her early life and the growth of her friendship with Robert Southey; an examination of her relationship with her major publisher, William Blackwood & Sons; a contextual analysis of The Birth-day and an overview of her critical reception; an account of her marriage and its aftermath, right up to her death. As with most reclamation projects involving forgotten women writ­ ers, it is only when we are able to see the writing and the life as inextricably intermeshed that we begin to comprehend the wider signifi­ cance of both. The present study draws on the results of research undertaken in libraries in Britain and the United States over a number of years. By touching on the more significant moments from the written records that remain, I hope I can indicate something of that mysterious lifelong process, part shared, part unique: the making of a woman writer.

doi:10.4324/9780429459375-22

Chapter

skill in drawing her out. In any case, despite the inevitable gaps, we are fortunate to have such rich sources of information. The major reason for any rescue attempt, of course, is a belief in the interest the work might hold for the modern reader. Such a belief has informed the rather unusual generic choice of a hybrid mode for the present study: a cross between an anthology and a critical biography. It seemed to me that it might be hard to justify producing a book-length critical study of a writer whose works are not available in print outside major research collections; equally, the bald reprinting of an anthology gathered from her collected prose works and poems might fail to reach new readers who are quite uninformed as to the circumstances of her life. I have divided the present selection from her works chronologically into four sections: early work; middle period (The Cat’s Tail and Tales of the Factories); The Birth-day (in its entirety); last poems. Details of the editions followed are given in the headnotes. Any editorial interven tion is minimal, and fully documented. The old-fashioned spelling con vention of replacing ‘e’ with an apostrophe (‘whisp’ring’; ‘wat’ry’; etc) has been modernised. It was old-fashioned even at the time, and it is not known whether it was her choice or Blackwood’s. Because I believe her prose writings, although widely popular at the time, are now mainly of historic interest, I have placed only a small selection in an appendix. Interlarding the poetry sections can be found short essays on different aspects of Caroline Bowles Southey’s literary career, beginning with an account of her early life and the growth of her friendship with Robert Southey; an examination of her relationship with her major publisher, William Blackwood & Sons; a contextual analysis of The Birth-day and an overview of her critical reception; an account of her marriage and its aftermath, right up to her death. As with most reclamation projects involving forgotten women writ ers, it is only when we are able to see the writing and the life as inextricably intermeshed that we begin to comprehend the wider signifi cance of both. The present study draws on the results of research undertaken in libraries in Britain and the United States over a number of years. By touching on the more significant moments from the written records that remain, I hope I can indicate something of that mysterious lifelong process, part shared, part unique: the making of a woman writer.

Chapter

skill in drawing her out. In any case, despite the inevitable gaps, we are fortunate to have such rich sources of information. The major reason for any rescue attempt, of course, is a belief in the interest the work might hold for the modern reader. Such a belief has informed the rather unusual generic choice of a hybrid mode for the present study: a cross between an anthology and a critical biography. It seemed to me that it might be hard to justify producing a book-length critical study of a writer whose works are not available in print outside major research collections; equally, the bald reprinting of an anthology gathered from her collected prose works and poems might fail to reach new readers who are quite uninformed as to the circumstances of her life. I have divided the present selection from her works chronologically into four sections: early work; middle period (The Cat’s Tail and Tales of the Factories); The Birth-day (in its entirety); last poems. Details of the editions followed are given in the headnotes. Any editorial interven tion is minimal, and fully documented. The old-fashioned spelling con vention of replacing ‘e’ with an apostrophe (‘whisp’ring’; ‘wat’ry’; etc) has been modernised. It was old-fashioned even at the time, and it is not known whether it was her choice or Blackwood’s. Because I believe her prose writings, although widely popular at the time, are now mainly of historic interest, I have placed only a small selection in an appendix. Interlarding the poetry sections can be found short essays on different aspects of Caroline Bowles Southey’s literary career, beginning with an account of her early life and the growth of her friendship with Robert Southey; an examination of her relationship with her major publisher, William Blackwood & Sons; a contextual analysis of The Birth-day and an overview of her critical reception; an account of her marriage and its aftermath, right up to her death. As with most reclamation projects involving forgotten women writ ers, it is only when we are able to see the writing and the life as inextricably intermeshed that we begin to comprehend the wider signifi cance of both. The present study draws on the results of research undertaken in libraries in Britain and the United States over a number of years. By touching on the more significant moments from the written records that remain, I hope I can indicate something of that mysterious lifelong process, part shared, part unique: the making of a woman writer.

DOI link for skill in drawing her out. In any case, despite the inevitable gaps, we are fortunate to have such rich sources of information. The major reason for any rescue attempt, of course, is a belief in the interest the work might hold for the modern reader. Such a belief has informed the rather unusual generic choice of a hybrid mode for the present study: a cross between an anthology and a critical biography. It seemed to me that it might be hard to justify producing a book-length critical study of a writer whose works are not available in print outside major research collections; equally, the bald reprinting of an anthology gathered from her collected prose works and poems might fail to reach new readers who are quite uninformed as to the circumstances of her life. I have divided the present selection from her works chronologically into four sections: early work; middle period (The Cat’s Tail and Tales of the Factories); The Birth-day (in its entirety); last poems. Details of the editions followed are given in the headnotes. Any editorial interven tion is minimal, and fully documented. The old-fashioned spelling con vention of replacing ‘e’ with an apostrophe (‘whisp’ring’; ‘wat’ry’; etc) has been modernised. It was old-fashioned even at the time, and it is not known whether it was her choice or Blackwood’s. Because I believe her prose writings, although widely popular at the time, are now mainly of historic interest, I have placed only a small selection in an appendix. Interlarding the poetry sections can be found short essays on different aspects of Caroline Bowles Southey’s literary career, beginning with an account of her early life and the growth of her friendship with Robert Southey; an examination of her relationship with her major publisher, William Blackwood & Sons; a contextual analysis of The Birth-day and an overview of her critical reception; an account of her marriage and its aftermath, right up to her death. As with most reclamation projects involving forgotten women writ ers, it is only when we are able to see the writing and the life as inextricably intermeshed that we begin to comprehend the wider signifi cance of both. The present study draws on the results of research undertaken in libraries in Britain and the United States over a number of years. By touching on the more significant moments from the written records that remain, I hope I can indicate something of that mysterious lifelong process, part shared, part unique: the making of a woman writer.

skill in drawing her out. In any case, despite the inevitable gaps, we are fortunate to have such rich sources of information. The major reason for any rescue attempt, of course, is a belief in the interest the work might hold for the modern reader. Such a belief has informed the rather unusual generic choice of a hybrid mode for the present study: a cross between an anthology and a critical biography. It seemed to me that it might be hard to justify producing a book-length critical study of a writer whose works are not available in print outside major research collections; equally, the bald reprinting of an anthology gathered from her collected prose works and poems might fail to reach new readers who are quite uninformed as to the circumstances of her life. I have divided the present selection from her works chronologically into four sections: early work; middle period (The Cat’s Tail and Tales of the Factories); The Birth-day (in its entirety); last poems. Details of the editions followed are given in the headnotes. Any editorial interven tion is minimal, and fully documented. The old-fashioned spelling con vention of replacing ‘e’ with an apostrophe (‘whisp’ring’; ‘wat’ry’; etc) has been modernised. It was old-fashioned even at the time, and it is not known whether it was her choice or Blackwood’s. Because I believe her prose writings, although widely popular at the time, are now mainly of historic interest, I have placed only a small selection in an appendix. Interlarding the poetry sections can be found short essays on different aspects of Caroline Bowles Southey’s literary career, beginning with an account of her early life and the growth of her friendship with Robert Southey; an examination of her relationship with her major publisher, William Blackwood & Sons; a contextual analysis of The Birth-day and an overview of her critical reception; an account of her marriage and its aftermath, right up to her death. As with most reclamation projects involving forgotten women writ ers, it is only when we are able to see the writing and the life as inextricably intermeshed that we begin to comprehend the wider signifi cance of both. The present study draws on the results of research undertaken in libraries in Britain and the United States over a number of years. By touching on the more significant moments from the written records that remain, I hope I can indicate something of that mysterious lifelong process, part shared, part unique: the making of a woman writer.

ABSTRACT

The major reason for any rescue attempt, of course, is a belief in the interest the work might hold for the modern reader. Such a belief has informed the rather unusual generic choice of a hybrid mode for the present study: a cross between an anthology and a critical biography. It seemed to me that it might be hard to justify producing a book-length critical study of a writer whose works are not available in print outside major research collections; equally, the bald reprinting of an anthology gathered from her collected prose works and poems might fail to reach new readers who are quite uninformed as to the circumstances of her life.