Emma Tatham facts for kids
Emma Tatham (born October 31, 1829 – died September 4, 1855) was an English poet from the 1800s. She was seen as a very talented and brilliant poet during the Victorian era, even though her poems are not often read much today.
Her Early Life and Poems
Emma Tatham was born in London, near a place called Gray's Inn. Her parents were George and Ann Tatham. She went to Miss Jolly's school on Great Ormond Street until she was 16 years old. Emma had an older sister who had passed away before Emma was born.
Her father's family came from West Witton in North Yorkshire. They owned a shop in Holborn that sold furniture and fabrics. Emma's mother was from Kent.
In 1847, when Emma was 18, her family moved to Margate. They moved there mainly because Emma was not very healthy. She started writing poems when she was young. Between the ages of 16 and 18, she wrote many poems very quickly.
A collection of her poems was published in 1854. It was called The Dream of Pythagoras and Other Poems. This book was so popular that it was printed again at least three times. After her book came out, some people even compared her to the famous writer Mary Shelley.
Praise for Her Work
A well-known writer named Matthew Arnold wrote good things about Emma Tatham. He said she had a "sincere vein of poetical feeling." This means he thought she truly felt what she wrote in her poems. He also said she had a "genuine aptitude for composition," meaning she was naturally good at writing.
Arnold compared Emma to a French poet named Eugénie de Guérin. He also described Emma as a "fervid Christian" because she was a Protestant living in Margate.
After Emma Tatham passed away, a book of poems was written in her honor. It was published in 1857 by Mrs. J. Cooke Westbrook. The book was called Etchings and Pearls; or, a Flower Planted on the Grave of Emma Tatham. A Methodist minister and family friend named Benjamin Gregory (1820–1900) also wrote a book about Emma's life after she died.
Emma Tatham died in 1855 while she was visiting Redbourn, Hertfordshire. She was buried there in the graveyard of the Independent Chapel.
