Augusta Webster
Encyclopedia
Augusta Webster born in Poole
, Dorset
as Julia Augusta Davies, was an English
poet
, dramatist, essayist, and translator
. The daughter of Vice-admiral George Davies and Julia Hume she spent her younger years on board the ship he was stationed, the Griper. After an informal education, she studied at the Cambridge School of Art. She published her first volume of poetry in 1860 under the pen name Cecil Homes. In 1863 she married Thomas Webster, a fellow at Trinity College Cambridge. Much of Webster's writing explored the condition of women, and she was a strong advocate of women's right to vote, working for the London branch of the National Committee for Women's Suffrage
.
Webster was the first female writer to hold elective office, having been elected to the London School Board in 1879 and 1885. In 1885 she travelled to Italy in an attempt to improve her failing health. She died on September 5, 1894, at 57.
During her lifetime her writing was acclaimed and she was considered by some the successor to Elizabeth Barrett Browning
. After her death, however, her reputation quickly declined. Since the mid 1990s she has gained increasing critical attention from scholars such as Isobel Armstrong
, Angela Leighton, and Christine Sutphin, Her best-known poems include three long dramatic monologues spoken by women: "A Castaway," "Circe", and "The Happiest Girl In The World", as well as a posthumously published sonnet-sequence, "Mother and Daughter".
Translations into verse
Plays
Novel
Essays
Poole
Poole is a large coastal town and seaport in the county of Dorset, on the south coast of England. The town is east of Dorchester, and Bournemouth adjoins Poole to the east. The Borough of Poole was made a unitary authority in 1997, gaining administrative independence from Dorset County Council...
, Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
as Julia Augusta Davies, was an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
, dramatist, essayist, and translator
Translation
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. Whereas interpreting undoubtedly antedates writing, translation began only after the appearance of written literature; there exist partial translations of the Sumerian Epic of...
. The daughter of Vice-admiral George Davies and Julia Hume she spent her younger years on board the ship he was stationed, the Griper. After an informal education, she studied at the Cambridge School of Art. She published her first volume of poetry in 1860 under the pen name Cecil Homes. In 1863 she married Thomas Webster, a fellow at Trinity College Cambridge. Much of Webster's writing explored the condition of women, and she was a strong advocate of women's right to vote, working for the London branch of the National Committee for Women's Suffrage
Women's suffrage
Women's suffrage or woman suffrage is the right of women to vote and to run for office. The expression is also used for the economic and political reform movement aimed at extending these rights to women and without any restrictions or qualifications such as property ownership, payment of tax, or...
.
Webster was the first female writer to hold elective office, having been elected to the London School Board in 1879 and 1885. In 1885 she travelled to Italy in an attempt to improve her failing health. She died on September 5, 1894, at 57.
During her lifetime her writing was acclaimed and she was considered by some the successor to Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Elizabeth Barrett Browning was one of the most prominent poets of the Victorian era. Her poetry was widely popular in both England and the United States during her lifetime. A collection of her last poems was published by her husband, Robert Browning, shortly after her death.-Early life:Members...
. After her death, however, her reputation quickly declined. Since the mid 1990s she has gained increasing critical attention from scholars such as Isobel Armstrong
Isobel Armstrong
Isobel Armstrong FBA is a British academic. She is Emeritus Professor of English at Birkbeck, University of London and a Senior Research Fellow of the Institute of English Studies at the University of London. She is a Fellow of the British Academy....
, Angela Leighton, and Christine Sutphin, Her best-known poems include three long dramatic monologues spoken by women: "A Castaway," "Circe", and "The Happiest Girl In The World", as well as a posthumously published sonnet-sequence, "Mother and Daughter".
Literary works
Poetry- Blanche Lisle: And Other Poems. 1860
- Lilian Gray. 1864
- Dramatic Studies. 1866
- A Woman Sold and Other Poems. 1867
- Portraits 1870
- A Book of Rhyme 1881
- Mother and Daughter 1895
Translations into verse
- Prometheus Bound 1866
- Medea 1868
- Yu-Pe-Ya's Lute. A Chinese Tale in English Verse. 1874
Plays
- The Auspicious Day 1874
- Disguises 1879
- In a Day 1882
- The Sentence 1887
Novel
- Lesley's Guardians 1864
Essays
- A Housewife's Opinions 1878