author
Francis Turner Palgrave
1824–1897
Best known for shaping generations of readers through The Golden Treasury, this Victorian critic, poet, and anthologist had a remarkable gift for choosing poems that lasted. His own writing and teaching also made him a steady voice in 19th-century English literary life.
1 Audiobook
The Visions of England Lyrics on leading men and events in English History
by Francis Turner Palgrave
About the author
Born in Great Yarmouth in 1824, he became known as a British critic, anthologist, and poet. He studied at Oxford, where he formed a lasting friendship with Alfred Tennyson, and later worked in the Education Department before returning to Oxford as Professor of Poetry.
His reputation rests above all on The Golden Treasury of English Songs and Lyrics (1861), an anthology that became one of the best-known poetry collections of the Victorian era. Alongside that editorial work, he wrote poetry and literary criticism, helping guide readers toward a broad and lasting sense of English verse.
He died in London in 1897, but his influence continued through the poems he selected and the literary standards he championed. For many readers, he remains an important figure not so much for a single masterpiece of his own as for the way he introduced great poetry to others.