Sonnets from the Portugese by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

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Poetry lovers and lovers themselves would certainly know and remember these lines: “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.....” These and other sublime verses are contained in this collection of tender, mystical, philosophical poems Sonnets from the Portuguese, published originally in 1850. The poet herself was part of one of the most famous literary love-stories of all time – a saga filled with romance, danger and severe opposition from her family. Born into a prominent and extremely wealthy family in Durham, England, she began writing as a child and her father encouraged her talent by getting a collection of poems published when she was only twelve. Schooled in Latin and Greek, she undertook serious scholarly work as well. An undiagnosed illness rendered her a life-long invalid. Elizabeth Barrett was already a well-known poet when she began corresponding with the brilliant writer and poet Robert Browning.Robert Browning who had read and admired her poems began writing to her