Victorian Augusta PDF Download

Augusta Webster (as she was known) published one novel, many reviews and several books of poetry, including verse plays, in the last four decades of the 19th century. An activist in social causes, she fought for women's suffrage in England; as a member of the London school Board, she championed the cause of the poor who could not pay for their children's education. Though appreciated by writers and reviewers of her day, Webster's work did not sell well and went out of print soon after her death. Because today her ironic aesthetic philosophical stance, focusing on the pain and brevity of life and avoiding moral judgment, seems current, literary critics have begun to explore her work. This biographical critical study reveals plentiful research in primary documents, letters, school board minutes, newspapers, and periodicals provides a good introduction to Webster and her work. Rigg (Acadia Univ.) writes well, and she shows considerable critical acumen with appropriate reference to the limited literature on Webster. Rigg makes some surprising gaffes, such as failure to recognize the Spenserian stanza. But the real difficulty this study faces is Webster's obscurity, which means the audience for this book will be limited.