Avuncularism: Capitalism, Patriarchy, and Nineteenth-Century English Culture Book

I did very much enjoy this -- especially the first two books. Aurora Leigh grows into such a strong, enlivened character. Barrett Browning shows that she is not just intellectually equal, but intellectually superior to the men in her life, and her moral/philosophical beliefs (which are kind of Stoic?) provide much food for thought. A great proto-feminist novel.

This is an Epic Poem, but the plot is far from the kind of thing you find in Homer and Milton. It's a bildungsroman, following the progression of Aurora Leigh as she becomes a writer. This is a world where women are supposed to create art only for their husbands (as she is taught by her aunt in the first book), and so this in itself is a huge mark of resistance. The events documented are fairly domestic but I think the Epic Poem form makes them more important. It positions female experience as something to be respected.