author
Mathilde Blind
1841–1896
A sharp, restless voice of Victorian literature, she wrote poetry, fiction, essays, and biography while moving through London's radical and artistic circles. Born in Germany and raised in exile in England, she brought political feeling and intellectual energy to everything she wrote.
3 Audiobooks
Jules Bastien-Lepage and his art : a memoir
by André Theuriet, Mathilde Blind, George Clausen, Walter Sickert
George Eliot
by Mathilde Blind
The Ascent of Man
by Mathilde Blind
About the author
Born Mathilda Cohen in Mannheim on March 21, 1841, she later took the surname Blind from her stepfather, the radical writer Karl Blind. After the failed revolutions of 1848–49, the family settled in England, and that experience of exile and political upheaval stayed with her throughout her life.
She became known as a poet, novelist, essayist, critic, translator, and biographer, building a remarkable career in Victorian literary culture. Her work ranged widely, but she is especially remembered for her poetry and for the way she carved out a place for herself in literary circles that were often dominated by men.
By the later decades of the 19th century, she was recognized as an important woman of letters and was associated with the emerging "New Woman" spirit of independent female writers. She died in London on November 26, 1896, leaving behind a body of work that blends imagination, intellect, and a strong sense of social and moral seriousness.