G. F. Watts was one of the major artistic figures of the nineteenth century. In this work published in 1905, only a year after Watts' death, Emilie Barrington (1841 1933) reflects on the close friendship she and her husband had with the renowned artist. Her aim in writing her volume of reminiscences was to accurately record her knowledge of Watts' life. She describes her first impressions, when she first met him in Dante Gabriel Rossetti's studio. Chapters also cover Watts' aims as an artist, his relationships and his genius. This fascinating book is highly illustrated throughout, including...

Harriet Martineau (1802 1876) was a British writer who was one of the first social theorists to examine all aspects of a society, including class, religion, national character and the status of women. These volumes, first published in 1877, contain Martineau's unusual autobiography. Written in three months in 1855 when she believed herself to be dying of heart disease, the original two volumes remained unaltered despite her recovery and continued writing. The third volume, covering the remainder of Martineau's life, was written by her friend and literary executor, Maria Chapman, who had...

Harriet Martineau (1802 1876) was a British writer who was one of the first social theorists to examine all aspects of a society, including class, religion, national character and the status of women. These volumes, first published in 1877, contain Martineau's unusual autobiography. Written in three months in 1855 when she believed herself to be dying, the original two volumes remained unaltered despite her recovery and continued writing. The third volume, covering the remainder of Martineau's life, was written by her friend and literary executor, Maria Chapman, who had access to Martineau's...

Harriet Martineau (1802 1876) was a British writer who was one of the first social theorists to examine all aspects of a society, including class, religion, national character and the status of women. These volumes, first published in 1877, contain Martineau's unusual autobiography. Written in three months in 1855 when she believed herself to be dying, the original two volumes remained unaltered despite her recovery and continued writing. The third volume, covering the remainder of Martineau's life, was written by her friend and literary executor, Maria Chapman, who had access to Martineau's...

Mary Wollstonecraft (1759 1797) published this book, the last before her death in childbirth, in 1796. The twenty-five letters are an account of a daring wartime trip to Scandinavia to attempt to retrieve a stolen ship for her lover, the American adventurer Gilbert Imlay. Her letters describe the people and culture she encountered, as well as the beautiful natural surroundings she observed. But in addition to a travelogue these letters include political reflections on controversial topics such as prison reform, as well as revealing a very personal story of inner turmoil and dislocation....

Louisa Anne Meredith (1812 1895) had published poetry, journalism, and books on flowers before emigrating to Australia in 1839. Her account of her journey there and her early impressions of the people were somewhat derogatory, and caused considerable offence in Sydney, although the book was widely read both in Australia and in England. However, her lyrical descriptions of nature were extremely popular, and she was also a talented illustrator of her own work. She published some twenty books, and many other writings, making her one of the most commercially successful women writers in Australia....

The English writer Agnes Strickland (1796 1874) began her career writing poetry and romances before turning to biographical studies. This eight-volume series, written in collaboration with her sister Elizabeth, and first published between 1840 and 1849, was her most ambitious project. It provides accounts of the queens of England from Matilda of Flanders to Queen Anne. Hugely popular in the Victorian period, Lives of the Queens of England and its sequel Lives of the Queens of Scotland remain important landmarks in the development of biography as a genre, and provide interesting perspectives...

The English writer Agnes Strickland (1796 1874) began her career writing poetry and romances before turning to biographical studies. This eight-volume series, written in collaboration with her sister Elizabeth, and first published between 1840 and 1849, was her most ambitious project. It provides biographical accounts of the queens of England from Matilda of Flanders to Queen Anne. Hugely popular in the Victorian period, Lives of the Queens of England and its sequel Lives of the Queens of Scotland remain important landmarks in the development of biography as a genre, and provide interesting...

Novelist Emily Gerard (1849 1905) went with her husband, an officer in the Austrian army, to Transylvania for two years in 1883. Then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, today a region of western Romania, Transylvania was little known to readers back in England. In the years following, she wrote this full-length account (published in 1888) as well as several articles on the region, which Bram Stoker used when researching the setting for Dracula. She describes encounters with the different nationalities that made up the Transylvanian people: Romanians, Saxons and gypsies. Full of startling...

Flora Shaw, Lady Lugard (1852 1929) was the first female reporter for The Times, and colonial editor from 1893 to 1900. She travelled widely, and wrote hundreds of articles promoting the British Empire and in favour of its expansion as a world power. She became very involved in South African politics as a friend of Cecil Rhodes, and in 1897 coined the name 'Nigeria' for the colony under the administration of the Royal Niger Company. In 1902 she married Sir Frederick Lugard, then High Commissioner of Northern Nigeria. In 1905 she published A Tropical Dependency, her most extensive work....