| Robert Browning was born May 7, 1812 in the London suburb of Camberwell. He attended a boarding school near his home. In 1824 he wrote a volume of verse that his parents tried to have published. Browning later destroyed the book. Four years later he enrolled in the University of London, but withdrew after a few months.
“Pauline,” his first poem was published anonymously and attracted little attention. He then wrote for the stage, but his plays were never commercial successes. In 1838, he took his first trip to Italy, a country where he was to spend a good part of his life. In 1845 he wrote his first letter to Elizabeth Barrett and made his first visit to her at Wimpole Street on May 20. They married on 1846 without her father's knowledge and eloped to Italy. In 1849 they had a son. They spent most of their married life on the continent until Elizabeth died in 1861. Then he settled in England. Poetic collections such as “Men and Women” and his epic, “The Ring and the Book” made for him a reputation nearly equal to Tennyson's in the last years of his life. He died in 1889. | ||
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Plot & Themes job/profession: Job/profession/poverty story Yes Period of greatest activity? - 1600-1899 Subject of Biography Gender - Male Profession/status: Ethnicity - White Nationality - British Setting Europe Yes European country: - England/UK - Italy Century: - 19th century Writing Style Book makes you feel? - thoughtful If this is a kid's book: - Age 16-Adult Pictures/Illustrations? - More 6-10 B&W How much dialogue in bio? - significantly more descript than dialog How much of bio focuses on most famous period of life? - 26-50% of book |
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