Victorian era Archives - Page 2 of 2

A Room of Her Own in Nineteenth-Century America

On December 5, 2020

Virginia Woolf wrote “A Room of One’s Own” to deliver in 1929 at Cambridge University for attendees of the two women’s colleges: Girton (est. 1869) and Newnham (est. 1871).

Colored photograph of Girton College, Cambridge — Girton College, Cambridge, England, ca. 1890–1900. https://www.loc.gov/item/2002696455/

Woolf expanded the seven thousand-word essay into a monograph that remains a touchstone of the feminist movement. [see http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks02/0200791.txt]. Her argument asserted that “a woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction.” The formula was much the same for a nineteenth-century female author, i.e., a woman needed to find money (have it, get it, or earn it) and a room of her own to enable her to write.

To paraphrase Virginia Woolf, American composer and author Augusta Browne (ca. 1820–82) did have a room of her own, although—like Emily Dickinson (1830–86)—it was in her parents’ residence.

Writing and Reading Augusta Browne’s Story

By Bonny Miller

On September 14, 2020

In Augusta Browne

Boydell and Brewer invites recently published authors to write a short essay for their blog, Proofed. The format gives authors a chance to reveal personal aspects of their new publications, such as the process of evolution of the book, or an occasion to delve into a tangent that was omitted from the publication. My guest entry about Augusta Browne appeared during August 2020. You can read it in full at:

https://boydellandbrewer.com/blog/women-and-gender-studies/writing-and-reading-augusta-browne-composer-and-woman-of-letters-in-nineteenth-century-america/

Augusta Browne at 200

By Bonny Miller

On March 1, 2020

In Augusta Browne, Posts

Women’s History Month March 2020 is an ideal time to highlight American composer and author Augusta Browne. It’s now 200 years since Augusta Browne was born in Dublin, Ireland, and came to North America as an infant. And it’s now 100 years since the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution that guaranteed American women the right to vote. What better time to find inspiration in a forebear for women musicians as they seek their own paths in culture and commerce?

Augusta Who?

Who was Augusta Browne? Augusta Browne composed and published music from her teenage years until her death in 1882. She produced some two hundred works of music over her lifetime and also authored short stories, poems, many essays, and two books. Browne energetically pursued publication of music and prose during the Victorian era despite strict codes of conduct and gendered roles for women. I first encountered her music in one antebellum magazine after another, beginning with Godey’s Lady’s Book, followed by the Columbian Magazine, then in a dozen other periodicals. Her entrepreneurial attitude leapt out from magazine pages. She was a go-getter during an era we do not usually associate with career women.

Music, History, Women, and Heritage

Tag: Victorian era

A Room of Her Own in Nineteenth-Century America

Writing and Reading Augusta Browne’s Story

Augusta Browne at 200

Augusta Who?