Best known work

• Records of Woman, 1828

Other well known work(s)

• Casabianca, 1826
• The Homes of England, 1827

Genres

• Plays
• Poetry

Nom de plume

Felicia Dorothea Hemans, Felicia Dorothea Browne

Social class

Middle class

Parental background

Her uncles attended Eton college, her mother being of Venetian or Austrian descent. Her father was the Tuscan and Imperial Consul in Liverpool. Hemans was home-tutored and received instruction from a gentleman in Latin. She wrote to support herself and her children.

At publication of best known work

• Age: 35
• Marital status: Separated
• Number of children: 5

Physical description

In the article "Sketch of Mrs. Hemans", Erwin House relates a description by Hemans' sister when the writer was "in the full glow of that radiant beauty which was destined to fade so early". "The mantling bloom of her cheeks was shaded by a profusion of natural ringlets, of a rich golden brown"" (The Ladies Repository, Vol 9, Jan 1849).

Did you know?

Deserted by her husband, Hemans was left to raise five boys under the age of six and wrote to support her family until her early death aged 43.

Additional information

Links to useful biographical sources can be found on the Victorian web.