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The After-lives of Felicia Hemans (1793–1835): Biographical Misconstructions

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Biographical Misrepresentations of British Women Writers

Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in Life Writing ((PSLW))

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Abstract

This chapter maps the struggle for biographical control over the image of Hemans through the various memoirs that appeared immediately after Hemans’ death. In their active construction, reconstruction and misconstruction of Hemans, these memoirs raise the following questions: What is the function of biography and the role of the biographer? What is the relationship between the public and the private, a poet’s life and her works, her life and her letters? By mapping the many after-lives of Hemans in these memoirs, this essay examines how these questions have been answered by Hemans’ life after death and how these answers might inform our current understanding of her life and her works.

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Luu, H. (2017). The After-lives of Felicia Hemans (1793–1835): Biographical Misconstructions. In: Ayres, B. (eds) Biographical Misrepresentations of British Women Writers. Palgrave Studies in Life Writing. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56750-1_7

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