Lucasta Miller

I struggled a bit to work out who this book is for. It's too unsystematic and superficial to be any sort of serious introduction. Recent scholarship is lightly touched on and moved away from before it gets really interesting and occasionally there is a slightly dutiful and secondhand feel to some of the writing (e.g. the passage on Peterloo and 'To Autumn'). Occasionally I felt the book was about to veer off into personal memoir but it always pulls back and that is to Lucasta Miller's credit I think. The choice of poems is sound but unsurprising. Overall though I was glad to have read it despite reservations.… (mer)

I came to this biography when, during the frustrations of Covid-19 lockdown, I looked through an old copy of the "Literary Review". A compelling analysis of the life, work and reputation of an English writer I'd never heard of, it is the story of a young woman of talent and originality whose creativity and person were abused and exploited - the book both vivid and disturbing. Despite the biography's rather recherché title, I am grateful that Lucusta Miller has introduced me to Letitia Landon, and hope that the Letitias of the 21st century may be nurtured not exploited.… (mer)

Fascinating reclamation of the most popular English poet, since forgotten, of the nebulous "post-Byronic era," 1824-39. Letitia Landon led a double life--virginal poetess by day, her publisher's mistress (who abandoned 3 children) by night--until the two collided and destroyed her reputation. Combined with her hackneyed brand of passion poetry falling out of fashion, the loss of reputation eventually proved fatal to her career. She died a probable suicide at age 36. Of interest historically as a transitional figure, but there's no evidence here that, as a poet and novelist, she didn't deserve to fall into obscurity.… (mer)

This is a fascinating book that dispels myths about the Bronte sisters spread primarily by Charlotte's biographer Elizabeth Gaskell. Attempts to fill in the blanks of Emily's life led to her representation as the "spiritual" Bronte, also a myth. Charlotte herself, sadly, was complicit in creating myths about her sisters, mainly to defend them against their critics. Both Emily and Anne's books were considered "coarse" and "immoral," and Charlotte represented her sisters as being ignorant of what they were doing.

The only disappointment of this book is that sister Anne remains in the shadows. Miller covers Charlotte extensively, mainly because much more information is available about her. Emily gets a few of her own chapters, but we still know nothing about Anne except from what we can glean from her writing.… (mer)