Dora Greenwell

hen taught herself, studying philosophy, political economy and languages. After the loss of Greenwell Ford, the family moved to Ovingham, where Dora taught local girls and published her Poems (1848). In 1850, the family settled at Golbourne in Lancshire, where Dora became friendly with Josephine Butler (q.v.) and supported her work. After 1854, the Greenwells lived in Durham. This was the period of Dora's greatest intellectual achievement, and she met many literary celebrities, including Jean Ingelow and Christina Rossetti (q.v.) After 1874, she settled in London and supported the franchise struggle. She also became addicted to opium.

Dora Greenwell was a woman of understated elegance and had a melodious voice. Despite her strong Christianity, her letters are lively and spirited. She was, in fact, a sociable woman, though much restricted by her Victorian sense of duty towards her mother. She was loud in the praise of her friend Christina Rossetti, to whom she has been compared, but her last words on herself reflect a sense of failure to meet her own high standards 'One word would alone tell my story - inadequacy.'

Dora Greenwell's poetry, as exemplified in Carmina Crucis (1869), Songs of Salvation (1873) and other works, is marked by intense religious feeling. Her prose works include The Patience of Hope (1860), Two Friends, Essays (1866) and Colloquia Crucis (1868). The essay 'Our Single Women' is a plea for the broader education of intelligent women.