Elizabeth Barrett Browning

"I will write my story for my better self." - Elizabeth Barrett Browning

"Of writing many books there is no end;
And I who have written much in prose and verse
For others' uses, will write now for mine,–
Will write my story for my better self,
As when you paint your portrait for a friend,
Who keeps it in a drawer and looks at it
Long after he has ceased to love you, just
To hold together what he was and is." 

This illustration was developed in collaboration with DoubleDay Books to celebrate the launch of Nell Stevens book, The Victorian and the Romantic. The book opens with a quote on the writing process from Elizabeth Barrett Browning's epic poem Aurora Leigh. We responded to the idea of one’s audience being solely a future self who looks back with pride on achievements, rather than a preoccupation with current social image, imaginary fears and expectations.