Barrett Browning, Elizabeth (1806-1861) Aurora Leigh.
New York: C.S. Francis & Co., 1857.
First American edition, quarto, author's edition, with Barrett's statement printed on verso of title page; bound in blind embossed ribbed publisher's cloth in brown with title in gilt on spine, worn, spine damaged, publisher's catalogue present after the text; gift inscription dated 1856 on ffep, "Mary A. Livermore, a Christmas gift de mon mari, 1856," and blind embossed stamp of C.P. Williams, bookseller and stationer of Auburn NY, 7 1/4 x 5 1/2 in.
"Form and spirit are the essential components of Elizabeth Barrett Browning's poetry, and it is in her masterpiece Aurora Leigh that she chose the traditional form of the English epic -- blank verse -- to embody the modern spirit of the Victorian age. The pentameter line and freedom from end-rhymes echo the oratorical and conversational cadences of Milton, Wordsworth, Shelley and Tennyson, who are, for EBB, important antecedents. Novelists, such as George Sand, Elizabeth Gaskell and Charlotte Brontë, also inspired Aurora Leigh's exploration of artistic ambition, sexual transgression, and spiritual passion." (Quoted from Elizabeth Barrett Browning's Aurora Leigh: A Reading Guide, by Michele C. Martinez, Edinburgh University Press, 2012.)
