This volume of poems by Elizabeth Barrett Browning comprises a selection of her work, and all the poems here appear in their first and original versions. The poems range from those written when she was 20, to the last poem which she wrote just before her death in 1861 at the age of 55. They cover a wide span of topics with examples of her love poetry, including the whole "Sonnets from the Portuguese", examples of her political verse - including her views on Italian unification in "Casa Guidi Windows", as well as sections from "Aurora Leigh", her plea for the social, sexual and intellectual emancipation of women. This collection is designed to illustrate her versatility, her development and her contribution to modern poetry and is intended to be a companion volume to Margaret Forster's new biography of Elizabeth Barrett Browning. Margaret Forster is author of three other biographical works: "The Rash Adventurer" (Bonnie Prince Charlie), "Memoirs of a Victorian Gentleman" (William Makepeace Thackeray) and "Significant Sisters" (a study of several 19th century feminists).