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Grace's avatar

Still catching up with previous posts and now intrigued about Charlotte Mew having only known her via the PF biography. My mental picture of her has entirely shifted so I will have to find this biography.

Two things jumped out at me…the house near Gt Ormond St. (our GOS nurse’s home in the 1970s was in just such a building) and also mention of Evelyn Underhill. I rarely hear mention of Evelyn these days but her writing was recommended to me years ago by a very knowledgeable local vicar and I certainly followed it up.

Thank you as usual for more trails to follow!

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Ann Kennedy Smith's avatar

Thanks Grace! I did appreciate seeing your copy of The Farmer's Bride via Notes. Julia Copus writes so well, and once again, I admire the level of research and refusal to speculate about CM's misery. She did have a lot of terrible difficulties in her life, but she was also a fighter and very confident about her work. Evelyn Underhill sounds a very interesting, confident woman too.

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James Lee's avatar

'...like having whiskey with one's tea'. Wonderful! ✨️

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Ann Kennedy Smith's avatar

Many thanks, James! I would have loved to be there...

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Kathleen Donnelly's avatar

Lovely. I edited this piece for Something Rhymed about Mew and May Sinclair... https://somethingrhymed.com/2018/11/05/charlotte-mew-and-may-sinclair/

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Ann Kennedy Smith's avatar

Thanks Kathleen! An excellent post.

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Sarah McCraw Crow's avatar

Thank you for this post—I’d never heard of Charlotte Mew, and you give us a vivid picture! Loved listening to the audio of this post, something I haven’t ventured to try in my own posts.

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Mary Roblyn's avatar

Oh, that image on the velvet drapes. I can see why Hardy admired her: she shares so much of his sensibility, but with a distinct voice. Another author for the groaning nightstand. Thank you for this addition to my Ann Kennedy Smith reading list.

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Nick Hornby's avatar

Five minutes ago, I was as close to reading a biography of Charlotte Mew as I was to Mars. Now I am ordering it. (You AND John Carey - a formidable combination.)

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Ann Kennedy Smith's avatar

Thank you Nick, that's so kind. I'll admit that I started reading Julia Copus's biography a bit reluctantly (we had connected on the platform previously known as Tw*) but then I got hooked. She is such a good writer, and Mew's poems really are amazing.

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