British poet and novelist Jean Ingelow was born on March 17, 1820 in Boston, Licolnshire, England. As a young girl she contributed poems and short stories to magazines under the pseudonym of Orris, but her first (anonymous) volume, A Rhyming Chronicle of Incidents and Feelings, which came from an established London publisher, did not appear until she was 13. This works was called charming by Alfred Lord Tennyson, who declared he should like to know the author; they later became friends. It was the publication of Poems in 1863 which suddenly made her a popular writer. They ran rapidly through numerous editions and were set to music, proving very popular for English domestic entertainment. Her work often focused on religious introspection. In the U.S. her poetry received great acclaim and the collection was said to have sold 200,000 copies. The coming years she wrote many novels including Studies for Stories (1864), Stories told to a Child (1865), Mopsa the Fairy (1869), and other stories for children. Ingelow's children's stories were influenced by Lewis Carroll and George MacDonald. Other more adult themed novels included Off the Skelligs (1872), Fated to be Free (1873), Sarah de Berenger (1880), and John Jerome (1886). The last years of her life were spent in Kensington, and she outlived her popularity as a poet. Ingelow died on July 20, 1897 and was buried at Brompton Cemetery, London.
Michael Thomas Barry is the author of Great Britain’s Literary Legends.
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