Meynell, Alice

Alice Meynell, in full Alice Christiana Gertrude Meynell, née Thompson, (born October 11, 1847, Barnes, near London, England—died November 27, 1922, London), English poet and essayist.

Much of Meynell’s childhood was spent in Italy, and about 1868 she converted to Roman Catholicism, which was strongly reflected in her writing. Encouraged by Alfred Tennyson and Coventry Patmore, she published her first volume of poems, Preludes, in 1875. She subsequently published Poems (1893) and Later Poems (1902); Last Poems (1923) was published posthumously.

One sonnet, “My Heart Shall Be Thy Garden,” brought her the friendship of Wilfrid Meynell (1852–1948), whom she married in 1877. They had eight children. She continued to pursue her literary activities, helping her husband, who edited the Weekly Register, and in 1883 they launched Merry England (1883–95), a monthly magazine for which she wrote many essays. Francis Thompson became known through their magazine, after they had aided and befriended the destitute poet. Her numerous volumes of prose include biographies of William Holman Hunt and John Ruskin, collections of essays (The Rhythm of Life, 1893; The Spirit of Place, 1899), and devotional writing.

Meynell’s verse is marked by its simple vocabulary and religious sincerity, and it communicates a gentle mournfulness and a sense of the passing of time. Her poetry was so popular that she was mentioned as a possible poet laureate upon the deaths of both Tennyson and Alfred Austin.