Emily Jane Pfeiffer

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Mid-Victorian feminist EJP published during the latter half of the nineteenth century. She composed three lengthy narrative poems, six volumes of other poetry, a work documenting her travels, a play, a work of prose fantasy, and, for prominent periodicals, a number of essays. She was particularly admired for her work in the sonnet form. Recurring across various genres is her unflinching depiction of the stunting and even violent impact of marriage on women. Despite her versatility, the originality of her mature work, and the force of her social analysis, her strong critical reputation has waned steeply since her death.
Photograph of a head-and-shoulders drawing of Emily Jane Pfeiffer. Her hair is pulled back, with several headbands round it; she wears earrings, a necklace, and a dress draped from the shoulders, with a large rose pinned at the neckline.

Milestones

26 November 1827

Emily Jane Davis (later EJP ) was born in Montgomeryshire, Wales, the eldest of three daughters.
Matthew, Henry Colin Gray et al., editors. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. http://www.oxforddnb.com/.

1843

Encouraged artistically by her father, at fifteen the future EJP produced The Holly Branch, An Album for 1843, a privately printed collection of her stories and melodies.
Thesing, William B., editor. Dictionary of Literary Biography 199. Gale Research.
199: 233

1876

EJP published Poems, the collection that proved her greatest critical success.
Thesing, William B., editor. Dictionary of Literary Biography 199. Gale Research.
199: 236

1889

EJP published a collection of sonnets entitled Flowers of the Night.
Thesing, William B., editor. Dictionary of Literary Biography 199. Gale Research.
199: 233, 239

23 January 1890

EJP died of pneumonia at her home in Putney, a year and a day after the death of her husband.
Matthew, Henry Colin Gray et al., editors. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. http://www.oxforddnb.com/.
Tyldesley, Peter J. Emails about Emily Jane Pfeiffer to Laura Stenberg.
Miles, Alfred H. The Victorian Poets: The Bio-Critical Introductions to the Victorian Poets from A. H. Miles’s The Poets and the Poetry of the Nineteenth Century. Editor Fredeman, William E., Garland.
161

Biography

Birth and Family

26 November 1827

Emily Jane Davis (later EJP ) was born in Montgomeryshire, Wales, the eldest of three daughters.
Matthew, Henry Colin Gray et al., editors. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. http://www.oxforddnb.com/.

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