Women Poets as Critics in the Athenaeum: Ungendered Anonymity Unmasked

Abstract

Explores the Athenaeum’s editorial policy toward poets and reviewers of poetry. Explodes the myth that Theodore Watts-Dunton dominated the poetry section in the 1880s and 1890s by revealing the identities of four generations of women poets who acted as critics: Matilde Blind, Augusta Webster, Edith Nesbit, and Rosamund Marriott Watson. Claims the journal’s reviews reveal the decision of some female critics to adopt a specifically feminine style, concentrate on feminine themes, or generally review from a feminine point of view.