I lived from 1799-1870.
I was from Ireland, and am in the English category.
I was influenced by poet William Lisle Bowles.
Louisa Stuart Costello was born in Ireland in 1799. She was primarily known as a travel writer, but was also accomplished as a painter, poet, novelist, and biographer. Louisa had a charming personality, a pretty face and was very engaging in conversation. She traveled extensively throughout Europe which was the source and inspiration of her many travel narratives. Although she had many admirers and counted Sir Walter Scott, King Louis-Philippe, Thomas Moore, Charles Dickens and William Lisle Bowles as friends, she never married. Louisa Costello was one of the most voluminous and popular writers of her day.
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After the death of her father, Colonel James Francis Costello in 1814, Louisa moved to Paris and supported her mother and brother by painting miniatures and working as a governess. Not yet 16, she was a proficient artist and was able to supplement her mother’s pension and support her brother Dudley, assisting him through college, his military service and, ultimately, for the rest of his life. Louisa had another brother who died at sea in 1813.
Louisa published her first book of poetry in 1815 and a second one in 1819. Songs of a Stranger, in 1825, gained her public attention. These poems showed her understanding of the popularity of song lyrics and were intended to be sung as well as read. She often described foreign landscapes in her poetry. 35 of her 82 poems were set in foreign countries which showed the influence of her travels. She published her first travel narrative in 1840. In 1844, she published Memoirs Of Eminent Englishwomen which was illustrated with her own engravings. She also published several novels which ultimately showed that she no great talent for fiction.
It is unknown what type of formal education Louisa had, but her wide-ranging knowledge was unusual for a woman of the Romantic period. Besides English and French, she was familiar with Italian, Middle English, Latin and Persian.
Louisa Costello received a Civil List pension in 1852 and another from a prominent family. Her mother died in 1846 and her brother, Dudley died in 1865. She retired to Boulogne where she died of cancer of the mouth on April 24, 1870. She is buried in the cemetery of St. Martin, in Boulogne.
Popular poetry
'Tis eve, the sun is sinking in the lake—
The lake, all glorious with his golden beams,
23 lines
Who is he that swiftly comes
In the lovely silence of night?—
28 lines
Ye elves! when spangled starlight gleams,
That flit beneath the ray,
16 lines
Yes, I have sung of others' woes,
Until they almost seem'd mine own,
24 lines, 8 comments
'Tis thy Spirit calls thee—come away!
I have sought thee through the weary day,
26 lines
We part, and thou art mine no more!
I go through seas never sought before,
35 lines
I have fled from all, and none can now
My way, my wanderings see;
20 lines
Since thou wilt banish me,
A long and last adieu!
18 lines
Thy form was fair, thine eye was bright,
Thy voice was melody;
17 lines
Fair stream of the mountain, brightly flowing
Between thy fresh margins, gay with flowers,
14 lines
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