Emily Bowes
Encyclopedia
Emily Bowes Gosse was a Victorian
painter
and illustrator
, and writer of evangelical
Christian
poems and tracts.
, England
to William and Hannah Bowes, both from old New England families. Her early years were divided between Merioneth, Exmouth and London, and in 1824 she commenced work as a governess to Revd John Hawkins in Berkshire, later moving to the home of Revd Sir Christopher John Musgrave, in Hove.
After these spells, Emily returned to London to stay with her parents in Clapton, North London. She attended the Plymouth Brethren
assembly in Hackney, where she met her future husband, Philip Henry Gosse
. They had known one another for several years before they married at Brook Street Chapel
, Tottenham
, in 1848. Emily was 42, her husband several years younger. Emily gave birth to their only child, Edmund
in 1849.
Emily died in Islington after a painful and protracted battle with breast cancer, and was buried in Abney Park Cemetery
, Stoke Newington
. Her last words were reputed to be to her husband: "I shall walk with Him in white. Won't you take our lamb and walk with me?"
painter, having studied with John Sell Cotman
. Her work includes the uncredited chromolithographs for her husband's book The Aquarium: an unveiling of the wonders of the deep sea (1854).
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
and illustrator
Illustrator
An Illustrator is a narrative artist who specializes in enhancing writing by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text...
, and writer of evangelical
Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...
Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
poems and tracts.
Biography
Emily Bowes was born in LondonLondon
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...
, England
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...
to William and Hannah Bowes, both from old New England families. Her early years were divided between Merioneth, Exmouth and London, and in 1824 she commenced work as a governess to Revd John Hawkins in Berkshire, later moving to the home of Revd Sir Christopher John Musgrave, in Hove.
After these spells, Emily returned to London to stay with her parents in Clapton, North London. She attended the Plymouth Brethren
Plymouth Brethren
The Plymouth Brethren is a conservative, Evangelical Christian movement, whose history can be traced to Dublin, Ireland, in the late 1820s. Although the group is notable for not taking any official "church name" to itself, and not having an official clergy or liturgy, the title "The Brethren," is...
assembly in Hackney, where she met her future husband, Philip Henry Gosse
Philip Henry Gosse
Philip Henry Gosse was an English naturalist and popularizer of natural science, virtually the inventor of the seawater aquarium, and a painstaking innovator in the study of marine biology...
. They had known one another for several years before they married at Brook Street Chapel
Brook Street Chapel
Brook Street Chapel is a nondenominational church building in Tottenham, North London. The building was constructed for use as a meeting place for local Christians affiliated with the Plymouth Brethren movement.-History:...
, Tottenham
Tottenham
Tottenham is an area of the London Borough of Haringey, England, situated north north east of Charing Cross.-Toponymy:Tottenham is believed to have been named after Tota, a farmer, whose hamlet was mentioned in the Domesday Book; hence Tota's hamlet became Tottenham...
, in 1848. Emily was 42, her husband several years younger. Emily gave birth to their only child, Edmund
Edmund Gosse
Sir Edmund William Gosse CB was an English poet, author and critic; the son of Philip Henry Gosse and Emily Bowes.-Early life:...
in 1849.
Emily died in Islington after a painful and protracted battle with breast cancer, and was buried in Abney Park Cemetery
Abney Park Cemetery
Abney Park in Stoke Newington, in the London Borough of Hackney, is a historic parkland originally laid out in the early 18th century by Lady Mary Abney and Dr. Isaac Watts, and the neighbouring Hartopp family. In 1840 it became a non-denominational garden cemetery, semi-public park arboretum, and...
, Stoke Newington
Stoke Newington
Stoke Newington is a district in the London Borough of Hackney. It is north-east of Charing Cross.-Boundaries:In modern terms, Stoke Newington can be roughly defined by the N16 postcode area . Its southern boundary with Dalston is quite ill-defined too...
. Her last words were reputed to be to her husband: "I shall walk with Him in white. Won't you take our lamb and walk with me?"
Painting
Emily Gosse was a landscapeLandscape
Landscape comprises the visible features of an area of land, including the physical elements of landforms such as mountains, hills, water bodies such as rivers, lakes, ponds and the sea, living elements of land cover including indigenous vegetation, human elements including different forms of...
painter, having studied with John Sell Cotman
John Sell Cotman
John Sell Cotman was an English marine and landscape painter, etcher, illustrator and author, one of the leading lights of the Norwich school of artists.-Early life and work:...
. Her work includes the uncredited chromolithographs for her husband's book The Aquarium: an unveiling of the wonders of the deep sea (1854).
Publications
Gosse was a writer of Christian poetry and a prolific author and distributor of religious tracts, as for example in Narrative Tracts, co-written with her husband. Her most noted publication is Abraham And His Children (1855), a set of object lessons using Biblical characters to illustrate parenting principles.See also
- Lingard, Ann, Seaside Pleasures (Littoralis Press, 2003). ISBN 0-9544572-0-X
- Thwaite, AnnAnn ThwaiteAnn Thwaite has written five major biographies. "AA Milne: His Life" was the Whitbread Biography of the Year, 1990. "Edmund Gosse: A Literary Landscape" was described by John Carey as "magnificent - one of the finest literary biographies of our time"...
, Glimpses of the Wonderful: The Life of Philip Henry Gosse, 1810-1888 (London: Faber & Faber, 2002, ISBN 0-5711932-8) - Shipton, Anna, Tell Jesus: recollections of Emily Gosse, New York, T.Y. Crowell, 1868