Pre-Raphaelite period

The Pre-Raphaelite period is presented as a moment when Christabel LaMotte’s ambitious epic The Fairy Melusina attracted notice from some critics, including Swinburne, even as later judgment regarded the poem as a failed experiment. Its place in LaMotte’s career contrasts with the restrained lyrics on which her lasting reputation rests and with the silence that followed Blanche Glover’s death.

Literary Context

LaMotte’s epic retells the tale of Melusina, a magical half-woman, half-snake. Blanche Glover, LaMotte’s artistic companion, is believed to have encouraged her to begin the work. The poem’s dense construction and limited narrative momentum distinguish it from the delicate lyrics that later secured LaMotte’s modest but lasting reputation.

During the Pre-Raphaelite period, certain critics admired the epic. Swinburne’s response recognized its force and serpentine quality but also faulted its lack of narrative drive. This divided reception captures the poem’s position in LaMotte’s career: an ambitious work that drew attention without becoming the foundation of her reputation.

LaMotte and Glover

The period’s literary account is intertwined with Glover’s artistic work and shared life with LaMotte. Glover painted large oil canvases, none of which survived, and made the wood engravings that illustrated LaMotte’s Tales for Innocents, Tales Told in November, and Orisons. Their collaboration gave Glover a substantial role in the visual presentation of LaMotte’s writing, as well as a possible role in prompting the epic itself.

Glover’s death by drowning in the Thames in 1861 had a distressing effect on LaMotte. LaMotte eventually returned to her family, lived with her sister Sophie, and appears to have written no further poetry after The Fairy Melusina. She withdrew increasingly into voluntary silence and died in 1890. The contrast between the period’s brief critical attention and this later silence gives the episode its significance: recognition of the epic did not lead to a sustained public poetic career.