Jean Ingelow
A Victorian poet whose sudden fame with 'High Tide on the Coast of Lincolnshire' captured the public's imagination with its musical, storytelling verse.
1820–1897 (age 77)·English poet and novelist·Birthday: March 17
Biography
Jean Ingelow spent her early years in Lincolnshire, a landscape that would deeply inform her poetry. Her quiet life transformed overnight in 1863 with the publication of her collection 'Poems', which became a sensational bestseller in both England and America. While often grouped with other female poets of her era, Ingelow distinguished herself with a narrative force and a command of ballad meter that felt both fresh and ancient. She later turned to writing novels and children's stories, like 'Mopsa the Fairy', which carried her lyrical sensibility into new genres. Though her literary star waned after her death, her work represented a significant, widely loved voice in the 19th-century poetic landscape.
#1 When Jean Was Born
The biggest hits of 1820
Jean's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1820Born
1825Started school
1833Became a teenager
1836Could drive
1838Could vote
1841Turned 21
1850Turned 30
1860Turned 40
1870Turned 50
President: Ulysses S. Grant
1880Turned 60
Edison patents the incandescent light bulb
President: Rutherford B. Hayes
1890Turned 70
Wounded Knee massacre marks the end of the Indian Wars
President: Benjamin Harrison
1897Died at 77
President: William McKinley
Key Achievements
- Her 1863 volume 'Poems' was a runaway commercial success, going through multiple editions in its first year.
- Her ballad 'High Tide on the Coast of Lincolnshire, 1571' was widely anthologized and praised for its dramatic rhythm and vivid imagery.
- She authored the popular children's fantasy novel 'Mopsa the Fairy' (1869), which remained in print for decades.
- She was nominated for the position of Poet Laureate in 1892 following Alfred, Lord Tennyson's death.
Did You Know?
The first run of her famous 1863 book sold out within a week of publication.
She was a skilled amateur watercolorist and illustrated some of her own writings.
A genus of fossil mollusk, 'Ingelowia', was named in her honor by a geologist admirer.
She was a close friend of the novelist and poet Jean Ingelow, and they corresponded extensively.
“I have lived to thank God that all my prayers have not been answered.”
