Mary Bryan

Mary Bryan (1780–1838) was an English Romantic poet and novelist. Her works include the novel Longhollow; a Country Tale and the poetry collection Sonnets and Metrical Tales (1815). Bryan was also a correspondent of William Wordsworth and Walter Scott.

Life

Early life Mary Bryan was born Mary Langdon on June 15, 1780, in North Petherton in Somerset, England. Her parents were Edmund Langdon and Mary Ballam. Bryan was the eldest child of her family and had three younger siblings, Anna, Julia, and John Ballam, who appear in some of her poems. she published her first book, Sonnets and Metrical Tales, in 1815, a year after his death. Bryan's sisters, Anna and Julia, are possibly the subjects of Bryan's poems "Julia" and "Anna."

Reception According to surviving letters written by Bryan, her work was well received by both William Wordsworth and Walter Scott, but never garnered a wide readership during her lifetime.

In an 1818 letter to Scott, Bryan writes, "I have received from Mr Wordsworth and others very soothing testimonies of the quality of some of my compositions: but it is well known that Mr W is not popular enough to give public weight to his opinion. The Public favor is engrosses by a few and, without infringing their right, I confess I think it ought to extend to a few more"

While she was relatively unknown during her lifetime, some modern scholars, such as Sharon Ragaz and Stuart Curran, have taken an interest in Mary Bryan and her work.