Review
'Iain Finlayson succeeds in making the life accessible... Hitherto Browning has had two literary monuments, one in his poetry and another in those "courtship" letters. Now he has a third in this conscientious and thoughtful biography.' The Times 'Browning has been fortunate in his biographers and this long new one by Iain Finlayson can be recommended... (its) intimate, trusting approach is immensely appealing. Finlayson gives us Browning in his overwhelming presence. This biography succeeded in thoroughly changing my mind. James was right: Browning is tremendous.' Philip Hensher, The Spectator 'One of the engaging features of Iain Finlayson's exhaustive new biography is that he tells some good stories against his man... It will be required reading for Browning fanatics.' Sunday Telegraph 'It is impossible to speak without enthusiasm of Browning's open, generous nature and his great ability and knowledge. I had no idea that there was a perfectly sensible poet in the world, entirely free from enmity, jealousy, or any other littleness, and thinking no more of himself than if he were an ordinary man. His great energy is very remarkable, and his determination to make the most of the remainder of his life.' Benjamin Jowett, 1865
As the author is quick to observe in his penetrating biography of the great Victorian, Browning only exists in the collective consciousness at all today as the supplier of useful verses ("Oh, to be in England..." and so forth) for anthologies of inspirational poetry. But there was infinitely more to him than that, as a man as well as a poet. The story of his elopement with Elizabeth Barrett to Italy in 1846 (she already 40 years old but lacking any experience of the great big world outside) is still as thrilling and swooningly romantic as anything in fiction, and there can be little doubt that in spiriting here away from her stifling, semi-invalid existence in London, Robert all but saved her life. The more the reader becomes involved with this astonishing couple, the more remarkable its loveable hero and his extraordinary wife become. This is so much more than simply good biography: Finlayson is a marvellous writer, and his elegant, felicitous style makes Browning perceptive to a degree as well as tremendous fun. (Kirkus UK)
Product Description
Henry James called Robert Browning (1812-89) "a tremendous and incomparable modern", and the immediacy and colloquial energy of his poetry has ensured its enduring appeal. This biography sets out to do the same for his life, animating the stereotypes (romantic hero, poetic exile, eminent man of letters) that have left him neglected by modern biographers. He has been seen primarily as one half of that romantic pair, the Brownings; and while the courtship, elopement and marriage of Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning remains a perennially seductive subject (and one Finlayson evokes vividly, quoting extensively from their daily letters and contemporary accounts) there is far more to Browning than that. Chronological in structure, this book is divided into three sections which deal with his life's major themes: adolescence and ambition, marriage and money, paternity and poetry. Browning explores the many experiences that inspired his writing, his education and passions, his relationships with family and friends, his continual financial struggles and revulsion at being seen as a fortune-hunter, his most un-Victorian approach to marriage (sexual equality, his helping wean Elizabeth off morphine and nursing her through various illnesses), fatherhood and fame (inviting a leading member of the Browning Society to watch him burning a trunk of personal letters): all of which contribute to a fascinating portrait of a highly unconventional Victorian. This critical biography aims to revolutionise perceptions of the poet - and of the man.
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