Other editions of book Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Robert Browning

"How do I love thee? Let me count the ways." Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Robert Browning captures the remarkable love story of the renowned poets behind these famous words, from their dramatic elopement in 1846 to Elizabeth's tragic death in 1861. Their romance began with a letter from Robert admiring Elizabeth's highly acclaimed book, Poems. When her father disapproved, they married in secret and boldly moved to Florence, Italy. Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Robert Browning describes how their love and lives flourished there, producing one son, writing some of their most renowned works, and maintaining friendships with some of the most prominent literati of their time, including John Ruskin, Alfred, Lord Tennyson, and William Makepeace Thackeray.

The romance between the ethereal invalid Elizabeth Barrett and urbane Robert Browning has been the subject of numerous books and films. Yet the reality was rather different: Elizabeth, whilst physically weak, was a tough intellectual with strong opinions, and Robert Browning, so long seen as his wife's husband, emerges as a complex and often troubled character. What is indisputable is the great love between them, which sustained Elizabeth's estrangement from her father, long periods of illness and (relative) poverty. Martin Garrett looks at their productive working relationship, and examines Robert Browning's life after his wife's death.