Felicia Hemans
English poet (1793-1835)
Felicia Dorothea Hemans (25 September 1793 – 16 May 1835) was an English poet (who identified as Welsh by adoption). Regarded as the leading female poet of her day, Hemans was immensely popular during her lifetime in both England and the United States, and was second only to Lord Byron in terms of sales. Two of her opening lines, "The boy stood on the burning deck" and "The stately homes of England", have acquired classic status.
Early life and education
Felicia Dorothea Browne was born on 25 September 1793, at 118 Duke Street, Liverpool. She was the daughter of George Browne, who worked for his father-in-law's wine importing business and succeeded him as Tuscan and imperial consul in Liverpool. Her mother, Felicity, was the daughter of Benedict Paul Wagner (1718–1806), wine importer at 9 Wolstenholme Square, Liverpool and Venetian consul for that city. Hemans was the fourth of six children (three boys and three girls) to survive infancy. Her sister Harriet collaborated musically with Hemans and later edited her complete works (7 vols. with memoir, 1839). George Browne's business soon brought the family to Denbighshire in North Wales, where she spent her youth.
“Felicia Hemans” enters the record as english poet (1793-1835). Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Felicia, Hemans and English can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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The entry’s evidential value lies in the named roles, institutions and publications that can be tested against primary documentation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 3, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q272537. VIAF identifies the subject as 17397168. The Library of Congress control number is n79078189. 4 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 2 carry qualifiers and 1 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1793, 1835, 1718 and 1806.
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This entry incorporates text from “Felicia Hemans” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.