SOURCE: "Miss E. B. Barrett and Mrs. Norton," in A New Spirit of the Age, Vol. II, edited by R. H. Horne, Smith, Elder, and Co., 1844, pp. 129-40.

Richard Henry Horne, British playwright and author, is best known for his children's books. In this essay, he compares the poetry of Norton and Elizabeth Barrett, addressing prominent themes and subjects in the works of both.

It is anything but handsome towards those who were criticised, or fair towards the adventurous critic, to regard, as some have done, the article on "Modern English Poetesses," which appeared a few years ago in the Quarterly Review, [LXVI, No. CXXII (September 1840)] as a tribute merely of admiration. It was a tribute of justice; and hardly that, because nine ladies were reviewed, of very different kind and degree of merit, all in the same article. Eight were allowed to wear their laurels; the ninth...