Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806-1861) is generally considered the greatest of English poetesses. She was well educated for a woman of her time at home, being confined to bed by a lung complaint, possibly tuberculosis. The appearance of her Poems in 1844 attracted the attention of Robert Browning, who courted her in secret before eloping with her to Italy. There Elizabeth's health improved and she threw herself into politics, becoming a pioneer of early liberal movements.
