Avoiding exaggerated colour and unnecessary scholarly details, the American author has produced a solid yet evocative biography of this prolific writer and front runner in the Romantic revolution storming across 19th C. Europe. Advocating freedom in living and loving with herself as an example, she was also politically aware and, although an aristocrat, devoted to workers' and women's rights. The times she lived in surrounded by genius in literature and art are portrayed in satisfying detail with remarkable economy.
(Kathie Somerwil Ayrton - bwl 82 Autumn 2016 ) |
