Rossetti wrote wild, romantic and imaginative poetry that leaps off the page. Whether it’s her weird and wonderful epic poem, “The Goblin Market” or her beautiful, mysterious sonnets like “Remember”.  While her poetry still looms large in anthologies and collections of British poets, her own life was quieter, more retiring, especially in comparison to her bohemian and drug-addled artist brother and his artist pals, the Pre-Raphaelites. But her own life reveals some clues as to her inspiration for her lyrical masterpieces.   Papà - Gabriele Rossetti                    Mamma - Frances Polidori   She was born in London’s Italian quarter. One of three children, Christina was the youngest child. Their father, a Dante scholar...

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The name “Lucy Maud Montgomery” might not ring any bells for you, but everyone knows Anne of Green Gables - the beloved books and equally beloved tv series that came after.  But her creator had an interesting and varied life as well - with a lot of parallels to Anne’s.   Read on for a short biography of Canada’s most famous writer.   Young Lucy Lucy was born on Prince Edward Island in 1874. Her mother died when she was 21 months old, at which point she began living with her maternal grandparents. Her early years were solitary. She spent much time alone, creating imaginary friends for herself. This imaginary world was clearly what sparked her creativity. She kept a...

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‘Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again.’   Du Maurier’s name is synonymous with some of the greatest works of fiction - twisted gothic romances, psychological horror, nail-biting thrillers…she paved the way for the type of novels we know and love today.   Her books and short stories have been made into countless films and tv shows, including Rebecca, The Birds and Don’t Look Now. And despite her death over thirty years ago, reader’s love for Du Maurier shows no sign of slowing down - in 2021 a new adaptation of Rebecca came out, introducing a whole new generation of readers to this masterpiece of manipulation and plotting.   Daphne (right) and her two sisters   Daphne was...

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Books have the power to inspire us, to explore new ways of living, different points of view that can shock or comfort. Literature can be especially important to women, who can read to discover how to live well in a world that does not prioritise their needs or desires. Books can be an escape, or a way to find oneself.   Read about my top five favourite females characters in literature.     Jo March - Little Women by Louisa May Alcott     Nowadays, we have a plethora of books about ambitious and independent young women who strike out on their own to live a different kind of life. But back when it came out, Little Women’s Jo March...

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Shop here Anais Nin lived large and wrote it all down compulsively, even obsessively. Her life was a series of glamorous parties, tumultuous affairs, adventures so thrilling she just had to write them down. But her life wasn’t all about wild parties and affairs - she wrote to introspect and to explore her subconscious, becoming her own psychoanalyst. She wrote works of fiction as well as publishing her own diaries in numerous volumes. Even to those who haven’t read her writing, she is the symbol of a daring and uncompromising woman who lived and loved by her own rules.  But who is the real woman behind the exotic name and the steady gaze? Read our short bio on one of America’s...

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    Most people only know two things about Harper Lee - she wrote To Kill a Mockingbird and, until very recently, never published anything again. So who really was the person behind one of America’s greatest novels?   We love a writer shrouded in mystery. In a world saturated with celebrity authors who reveal seem to reveal all, there is something compelling about a writer who eschews fame and money for a private life. But Harper Lee was not a cipher, she was a real person. We still know little about her personal life, probably because she wanted it that way. Here is a short history of Harper Lee, one of America’s finest fiction writers.   Mockingbird was loosely...

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  Kate Chopin is one of America’s finest authors, writer of classics such as The Awakening, writing at a time when being a writer was still not a well-respected profession for women. So who was Kate Chopin, and how did she come to write the novels and stories we consider classics of literature today?   She was born Katherine O’Flaherty in St Louis, Missouri. Her father was an Irish emigré and her mother was of French descent.   She was raised by three generations of widows - her mother, grandmother and great-grandmother in the same household. Her father died when she was very young and her mother never remarried. She was tutored for several years her great-grandmother, who taught her French,...

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