Adelaide Anne Procter was born on 30th October, 1825 at 25 Bedford Square in the Bloomsbury district of London. Her literary career began whilst still a teenager. Many of her poems were published by the great Charles Dickens in his periodicals Household Words and All the Year Round before being later published in book form. A voracious reader, Procter was largely self-taught, though she did study at Queen''s College in Harley Street in 1850. Her interest in poetry grew from an early age. Procter published her first poem, Ministering Angels, while still a teenager in 1843. By 1853 she was submitting pieces to Dickens''s Household Words under her pseudonym Mary Berwick, electing that this way her work would be judged for its own worth rather than on the friendship between her father and Dickens. Dickens didn’t learn of her true identity for over a year. Minstering Angels was to be the beginning of a long and mutually beneficial relationship of publishing in Dickens’ journals that would eventually reach 73 poems in House words together with a further 7 poems in All the Year Round, most of which were collected and later published into her first two volumes of poetry, both entitled Legends and Lyrics. Proctor was also the editor of the journal Victoria Regia, which became the showpiece of the Victoria Press, a venture hoping to promote the employment of women in all manner of trades and professions. Procter’s health failed in 1862. Dickens and others suggested that this illness was due to her extensive and exhausting schedule of charity work. An attempt to improve her health by taking a cure at Malvern failed. Adelaide Anne Proctor died on 3rd February 1864 of tuberculosis. She had been bed-ridden for almost a year. Procter was buried in Kensal Green Cemetery.

Adelaide Anne Procter was born on 30th October, 1825 at 25 Bedford Square in the Bloomsbury district of London. Her literary career began whilst still a teenager. Many of her poems were published by the great Charles Dickens in his periodicals Household Words and All the Year Round before being later published in book form. A voracious reader, Procter was largely self-taught, though she did study at Queen''s College in Harley Street in 1850. Her interest in poetry grew from an early age. Procter published her first poem, Ministering Angels, while still a teenager in 1843. By 1853 she was submitting pieces to Dickens''s Household Words under her pseudonym Mary Berwick, electing that this way her work would be judged for its own worth rather than on the friendship between her father and Dickens. Dickens didn’t learn of her true identity for over a year. Minstering Angels was to be the beginning of a long and mutually beneficial relationship of publishing in Dickens’ journals that would eventually reach 73 poems in House words together with a further 7 poems in All the Year Round, most of which were collected and later published into her first two volumes of poetry, both entitled Legends and Lyrics. Proctor was also the editor of the journal Victoria Regia, which became the showpiece of the Victoria Press, a venture hoping to promote the employment of women in all manner of trades and professions. Procter’s health failed in 1862. Dickens and others suggested that this illness was due to her extensive and exhausting schedule of charity work. An attempt to improve her health by taking a cure at Malvern failed. Adelaide Anne Proctor died on 3rd February 1864 of tuberculosis. She had been bed-ridden for almost a year. Procter was buried in Kensal Green Cemetery.

Adelaide Anne Procter was born at 25 Bedford Square in Bloomsbury, on October 30th, 1825. An early voracious reader she began her literary career as a teenager; her poems were primarily published in Charles Dickens''s periodicals Household Words and All the Year Round and later published in book form.

Her charity work and her conversion to Roman Catholicism in 1851 seems to have been a strong influence on her poetry and her desire to help the homeless and unemployed women as well as work with feminist groups and various journals. Adelaide was a favourite poet of Queen Victoria and fellow poet Coventry Patmore called her “the most popular poet of the day after Alfred Lord Tennyson”. Many of her poems were set to music and published in England, Germany and the United States.

Adelaide never married and this has given rise to questions about her sexuality. Her poems do reveal how Victorian women expressed repressed feelings but for many years now her work has to been given the attention it really deserves. Here we publish volume 2 of her poems so her work can now be seen for the great talent that she is.

Adelaide Anne Proctor died on February 2nd 1864, from tuberculosis, at the age of only 38.

Adelaide Anne Procter was born on 30th October, 1825 at 25 Bedford Square in the Bloomsbury district of London. Her literary career began whilst still a teenager. Many of her poems were published by the great Charles Dickens in his periodicals Household Words and All the Year Round before being later published in book form. A voracious reader, Procter was largely self-taught, though she did study at Queen''s College in Harley Street in 1850. Her interest in poetry grew from an early age. Procter published her first poem, Ministering Angels, while still a teenager in 1843. By 1853 she was submitting pieces to Dickens''s Household Words under her pseudonym Mary Berwick, electing that this way her work would be judged for its own worth rather than on the friendship between her father and Dickens. Dickens didn’t learn of her true identity for over a year. Minstering Angels was to be the beginning of a long and mutually beneficial relationship of publishing in Dickens’ journals that would eventually reach 73 poems in House words together with a further 7 poems in All the Year Round, most of which were collected and later published into her first two volumes of poetry, both entitled Legends and Lyrics. Proctor was also the editor of the journal Victoria Regia, which became the showpiece of the Victoria Press, a venture hoping to promote the employment of women in all manner of trades and professions. Procter’s health failed in 1862. Dickens and others suggested that this illness was due to her extensive and exhausting schedule of charity work. An attempt to improve her health by taking a cure at Malvern failed. Adelaide Anne Proctor died on 3rd February 1864 of tuberculosis. She had been bed-ridden for almost a year. Procter was buried in Kensal Green Cemetery.

Adelaide Anne Procter was born on 30th October, 1825 at 25 Bedford Square in the Bloomsbury district of London. Her literary career began whilst still a teenager. Many of her poems were published by the great Charles Dickens in his periodicals Household Words and All the Year Round before being later published in book form. A voracious reader, Procter was largely self-taught, though she did study at Queen''s College in Harley Street in 1850. Her interest in poetry grew from an early age. Procter published her first poem, Ministering Angels, while still a teenager in 1843. By 1853 she was submitting pieces to Dickens''s Household Words under her pseudonym Mary Berwick, electing that this way her work would be judged for its own worth rather than on the friendship between her father and Dickens. Dickens didn’t learn of her true identity for over a year. Minstering Angels was to be the beginning of a long and mutually beneficial relationship of publishing in Dickens’ journals that would eventually reach 73 poems in House words together with a further 7 poems in All the Year Round, most of which were collected and later published into her first two volumes of poetry, both entitled Legends and Lyrics. Proctor was also the editor of the journal Victoria Regia, which became the showpiece of the Victoria Press, a venture hoping to promote the employment of women in all manner of trades and professions. Procter’s health failed in 1862. Dickens and others suggested that this illness was due to her extensive and exhausting schedule of charity work. An attempt to improve her health by taking a cure at Malvern failed. Adelaide Anne Proctor died on 3rd February 1864 of tuberculosis. She had been bed-ridden for almost a year. Procter was buried in Kensal Green Cemetery.

Adelaide Anne Procter was born at 25 Bedford Square in Bloomsbury, on October 30th, 1825. An early voracious reader she began her literary career as a teenager; her poems were primarily published in Charles Dickens''s periodicals Household Words and All the Year Round and later published in book form.

Her charity work and her conversion to Roman Catholicism in 1851 seems to have been a strong influence on her poetry and her desire to help the homeless and unemployed women as well as work with feminist groups and various journals. Adelaide was a favourite poet of Queen Victoria and fellow poet Coventry Patmore called her “the most popular poet of the day after Alfred Lord Tennyson”. Many of her poems were set to music and published in England, Germany and the United States.

Adelaide never married and this has given rise to questions about her sexuality. Her poems do reveal how Victorian women expressed repressed feelings but for many years now her work has to been given the attention it really deserves. Here we publish volume 2 of her poems so her work can now be seen for the great talent that she is.

Adelaide Anne Proctor died on February 2nd 1864, from tuberculosis, at the age of only 38.