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Article: Invalid insurrections: intellect and appetite in Catharine Maria Sedgwick's biography of Lucretia Maria Davidson.
- Article from:
- ATQ (The American Transcendental Quarterly)
- Article date:
- June 1, 2006
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 University of Rhode Island. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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In 1841, Edgar Allan Poe reminded readers of Graham's Magazine that "the name of Lucretia Davidson is familiar to all readers of poetry" (219). By then, three biographies--by Samuel Morse, President of the American Society of Arts (1829), Robert Southey (1829), and Catharine Maria Sedgwick (1843)--had showcased her "precocious genius" and mourned her untimely death at seventeen. According to the biographical record, Lucretia was exceptionally beautiful--with "a high, open forehead, a soft, black eye, perfect symmetry of features, fair complexion, and luxuriant, dark hair" (Morse xvii). She was also poetically gifted and incredibly prolific: although her mother estimated ...