The Brownings' Correspondence: Volumes 22-24

FAIN: RQ-50534-11

Philip Kelley
Baylor University (Waco, TX 76798-7284)

Completion of editorial work on volumes 22-24 of The Brownings' Correspondence. (36 months)

The letters of Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning, scattered in over 300 public and private collections, represent one of the largest and most comprehensive bodies of literary and social commentary on the nineteenth century. The aim of The Brownings' Correspondence, projected to be 40 volumes, is to publish the complete text of all the poets' letters with full annotations, thus making them accessible to a modern audience. This application requests three-year funding to edit volumes 22-24 of the edition, covering the period February 1856-August 1858. During this time, the Brownings and their correspondents discuss current political, social, and cultural issues and personalities, including Italian independence, Napoleon III, the Sepoy Mutiny, art, literature, the Pre-Raphaelites, religion, Pope Pius IX, spiritualism, and women's rights. This last is the subject of numerous letters focusing on EBB's masterwork Aurora Leigh (1857). RB's Men and Women (1855) continues to receive comment.

Media Coverage

Elizabeth Barrett Browning (Review)
Author(s): Taylor, Beverly
Publication: Victorian Poetry
Date: 7/19/2016
Abstract: Vol. 53:3 (Fall 2015), pp. 293–295. Review Essay.

Associated Products

The Brownings' Correspondence (Web Resource)
Title: The Brownings' Correspondence
Author: Philip Kelley
Abstract: This is an online edition of the brownings' Correspondence, in print through Wedgestone Press. The site includes the actual correspondence, both to and from Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett Browning; supporting docuemnts that were consulted in annotating the correspondence; reviews of the work of the Brownings, published from 1826 through 1890; biographical sketches of correspondents and persons named in the letters;portraits; and a chronology.
Year: 2014
Primary URL: http://www.browningscorrespondence.com/
Primary URL Description: Home page of the Brownings' Correspondence.

The Brownings’ Correspondence [vol. 22] (Book)
Title: The Brownings’ Correspondence [vol. 22]
Author: Browning, Elizabeth Barrett
Author: Browning, Robert
Editor: Kelley, Philip
Editor: Lewis, Scott
Editor: Hagan, Edward
Editor: Phelan, Joseph
Editor: Williams, Rhian
Abstract: November 1855–June 1856, Letters 3678–3809 In Volume 22 the Brownings continue their winter residence in Paris. They read with interest the notices of RB’s Men and Women that begin appearing soon after its publication in November 1855. All the reviews traced for this period are presented in Appendix III, including those by George Eliot and William Morris. The Crimean War formally ends on 30 March 1856 with the signing of a peace treaty in Paris. EBB is disappointed that despite Piedmont’s participation on the allied side, nothing is done to free Italy from Austrian control. Correspondence in this volume includes letters to John Ruskin, in which RB reveals some of his theories about poetry. Although EBB stays inside most of the winter, RB goes out frequently. He attends a dinner hosted by Lady Monson and R.M. Milnes; among the guests are George Sand and Camillo di Cavour. Meanwhile, EBB writes feverishly to complete her modern epic Aurora Leigh, in order to be ready for printing when the Brownings return to London in June. However, as they prepare for departure at the end of the month, much work remains to be done.
Year: 2015
Primary URL: http://www.worldcat.org/title/brownings-correspondence-vol-22-november-1855-june-1856-letters-3678-3809/oclc/931955393&referer=brief_results
Primary URL Description: Worldcat entry.
Secondary URL: http://www.browningscorrespondence.com/
Secondary URL Description: The Brownings’ Correspondence: An Online Edition.
Access Model: Print volume offered for sale; open access available online.
Publisher: Wedgestone Press
Type: Scholarly Edition
ISBN: 9780911459395
Copy sent to NEH?: Yes

The Brownings’ Correspondence [vol. 23] (Book)
Title: The Brownings’ Correspondence [vol. 23]
Author: Browning, Elizabeth Barrett
Author: Browning, Robert
Editor: Kelley, Philip
Editor: Lewis, Scott
Editor: Hagan, Edward
Editor: Phelan, Joseph
Editor: Williams, Rhian
Abstract: July 1856–January 1857, Letters 3810–3962 Volume 23 opens with the Brownings taking up summer residence in London, where EBB immediately dives into work: she corrects proofs of her Poems (1856), while completing her modern epic, Aurora Leigh, which begins printing in early August. Proofs start to arrive later in the month just as the Brownings feel it necessary to leave town. They spend the next five weeks on the Isle of Wight, first visiting EBB’s sister Arabella and three of her brothers in Ventnor, then the gravely ill John Kenyon in West Cowes. On their roundabout return to London, they stay a week with EBB’s sister Henrietta and her family in Somerset. Meanwhile, the proofs of Aurora Leigh have followed the Brownings “like bloodhounds,” as EBB phrases it, and she manages to finish proofreading and correcting only days before their departure for Italy on 23 October. Upon resuming their quiet life in Florence, the poets await the critical reception of Aurora Leigh, which is published on 15 November. All reviews of the poem traced for this period appear in Appendix III, including those by H.F. Chorley and George Eliot. There are also glowing letters of praise from friends, such as John Ruskin, who twice names Aurora Leigh “the greatest poem in the English language.” In December, the Brownings receive word of John Kenyon’s death. In his will, he bequeaths them £10,500, effectively ending their financial worries.
Year: 2016
Primary URL: http://www.worldcat.org/title/brownings-correspondence-volume-23-july-1856-january-1857-letters-3810-3962/oclc/947518228&referer=brief_results
Primary URL Description: Worldcat entry.
Secondary URL: http://www.browningscorrespondence.com/
Secondary URL Description: The Brownings’ Correspondence: An Online Edition.
Access Model: Print volume offered for sale; open access available online.
Publisher: Wedgestone Press
Type: Scholarly Edition
ISBN: 9780911459401
Copy sent to NEH?: Yes

---