Augusta Webster

Augusta Webster (1837 to 1894), who was born in Dorset as Julia Augusta Davies, was an English poet, essayist, and dramatist. As the daughter of Vice-admiral George Davies and Julia Hume, she spent her youth on board the Griper. She studied Greek and taking a special interest in Greek drama, later studied at the Cambridge School of Art. Her first volume of poetry was released in 1860 under the pen name Cecil Homes, as was tradition. She married Thomas Webster, a fellow at Trinity College, Cambridge in 1863. Much of her writing explored the situation of women. As a strong advocate of women's voting rights, she worked for the London branch of the National Committee for Women's Suffrage. She was the first female writer to be elected to the London School Board in 1879 and 1885 (the first woman to hold an elective position of any kind). In 1885 she visited Italy for health reasons and died in1894, aged 57. Many considered her the successor to Elizabeth Barrett Browning, but after her death her reputation waned. Since the mid-1990s she has gained more attention again. Her best-known poems are the dramatic monologues (of women): "A Castaway," "Circe", and "The Happiest Girl In The World", and her posthumously published "Mother and Daughter".