From Darwin to Cornford

This study presents the first sustained account of the life and work of the poet Frances Cornford (1886–1960). Scholars from across disciplines reveal her journey, as she navigated the scientific inheritance of her grandfather Charles Darwin, the patriarchal world of the University of Cambridge, and the demands of dominant poetry movements, through times of personal loss and depression. The volume brings renewed attention to Frances’s poetry from across her career, draws on previously-unseen manuscripts and photographs, and curates her memoir. Frances became a widely-read poet, winning the Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry in 1959.