Jean Ingelow (March 17, 1820 – July 20, 1897) was a phenomenally popular Victorian-era English poet, novelist, and children's author whose evocative, nostalgic verse earned her deep admiration on both sides of the Atlantic. Born in Boston, Lincolnshire, to a prominent banker, she was educated at home and began contributing verses to local periodicals as a girl under the pen name Orris. She vaulted to massive international literary prominence with her breakout 1863 collection, [Poems], which contained her most celebrated masterpieces, including the widely acclaimed narrative poem "Divided" and the haunting ballad "The High Tide on the Coast of Lincolnshire, 1571". Her lyrical, blank-verse writing—heavily praised by her close lifelong friend Alfred, Lord Tennyson—sold over 200,000 copies in Britain and America combined, making her one of the top-earning female poets of her age. A deeply charitable spirit who spent a significant portion of her royalties on bi-weekly "copyright dinners" to feed her poor and sick neighbors, she later transitioned into full-length prose fiction. She authored popular multi-volume adult novels like Off the Skelligs and Sarah de Berenger, alongside Lewis Carroll-influenced children's fables such as [Mopsa the Fairy]. Spending most of her adult life in Kensington, London, she passed away in 1897, leaving behind a rich legacy that is preserved today within the University of Kansas Spencer Research Library Archives, where her original correspondence, draft proofs, and photographs are held.
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