Browning societies were groups of people who met regularly to discuss the works of Robert Browning

Robert Browning

Robert Browning was an English poet and playwright whose mastery of dramatic verse, especially dramatic monologues, made him one of the foremost Victorian poets.-Early years:...

. Emerging from various reading groups, the societies were an indication of the poet's fame and, unusually, were actively forming during his lifetime. Browning was not consulted on the foundation of these societies in appreciation of his work, and the idea did not meet with his immediate approval.

History

The earliest Browning Society, and the longest continuing, was formally constituted in 1877 by Hiram Corson

Hiram Corson

Hiram Corson was an American professor of literature.Corson was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1828.His teaching career included positions at Girard College, St. Johns College, Annapolis, and Cornell University...

 at Cornell University

Cornell University

Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...

. The Boston Browning Society followed in 1885, which would become the largest and most influential, and by 1900 there were hundreds of such groups across the United States, Canada and Britain.

The most notable Browning Society was that established in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, in 1881, by Frederick James Furnivall

Frederick James Furnivall

Frederick James Furnivall , one of the co-creators of the Oxford English Dictionary , was an English philologist...

 and Emily Hickey

Emily Henrietta Hickey

Emily Henrietta Hickey was an Irish author, narrative poet and translator.She was born in Macmine Castle, near Enniscorthy in County Wexford, daughter of the Rev. J. S. Hickey, Protestant rector of Goresbridge and grand-daughter of Rev. William Hickey , an agriculturist...

. Meeting monthly at University College London

University College London

University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...

, the society extended Browning's readership by publishing aids to the study of his works, cheaply produced editions of his work, and encouraging amateur productions

Amateur theatre

Amateur theatre is theatre performed by amateur actors. These actors are not typically members of Actors' Equity groups or Actors' Unions as these organizations exist to protect the professional industry and therefore discourage their members from appearing with companies which are not a signatory...

of his plays. Although the relationship with the society was often fraught, Browning recognised the society's role in his success.

In fiction

• Arthur Conan Doyle (2004) A Duet with an Occasional Chorus Kessinger Publishing. ISBN 1417959320. Chapter XVI is set around the politics in a Browning Society. Retrieved October 2011.