Laurence Hope

Born Adela Florence Cory in Gloucestershire in 1865, she later became known as Violet Nicolson and published under the pseudonym Laurence Hope. She spent much of her life in India, an experience that shaped the mood, imagery, and setting of her poetry.

Her best-known book, The Garden of Kama (1901), brought her wide popularity, and she was regarded as a bestselling author in the early 20th century. Her verse is remembered for its intense emotion and for the way it presented imagined Indian love lyrics to English-speaking readers.

Her life was short and tragic. After her husband's death during a medical operation in 1904, she died two months later at the age of 39. A posthumous collection, Last Poems, was published after her death.