Alice Meynell

Alice Christiana Gertrude Meynell (/ˈmɛnəl/ MEN-uhl; née Thompson; 11 October 1847 – 27 November 1922) was a British writer, editor, critic, and suffragist, now remembered mainly as a poet. She was considered for the position of Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom twice, first in 1892 on the death of Alfred, Lord Tennyson, and later in 1913 on the death of Alfred Austin, but was never appointed to the position.

Meynell and her husband, Wilfrid Meynell, were the owners and editors of several Catholic publications and patrons of the poet Francis Thompson.

Early life and family

Alice Christiana Gertrude Thompson was born in Barnes, London on 11 October 1847 to Thomas James and Christiana (née Weller) Thompson, a painter and concert pianist. The family moved around England, Switzerland, and France, but she was brought up mostly in Italy, where a daughter of her father's from his first marriage had settled. Her father was a friend of Charles Dickens, and Meynell suggests in her memoir that Dickens was also romantically interested in her mother, noting that he had said to Thomas Thompson, "Good God, what a madman I should seem if the incredible feeling I have conceived for that girl could be made plain to anyone!"

On her father's side, Meynell had Jamaican Creole ancestry and was a third cousin of Elizabeth Barret Browning.

Meynell suffered from ill health during her early life, and in 1868, during a bout of illness, converted to Roman Catholicism. During this time, she reportedly fell in love with the Jesuit Priest, Father Augustus Dignam, who had helped her in her conversion. Dignam is believed to have inspired Meynell's love poems "After Parting" and "Renouncement." By 1880, her entire family had also converted to Catholicism.