Augusta Webster

AW wrote poetry, two novels (one for children), drama, and journalism, including book reviews and criticism, in the latter part of the nineteenth century. Despite her translations from and imaginative interpretations of classical literature, her poetic voice is very much of the Victorian period in its fascination with the dramatic. In her eight volumes of original poetry she experimented with form, achieving particular power and originality with the dramatic monologue. One of her four plays was staged, and some of her columns on social, political, and literary issues were collected into a volume. Her high reputation as a poet in her own day soon faded after her death, but she has recently experienced a critical revival based on her more politically charged and feminist works.