If Adelaide Anne Procter still holds a place in popular memory, it is because of Arthur Sullivan's setting of her poem "A Lost Chord." Yet a little over a hundred years ago her books of verse outsold those of all living poets except Tennyson, and her popularity was crowned by royal approbation. To modern eyes, Procter's verse is a curiosity of Victorian taste; but it is also a memorial to a woman's determination to make her life her own.

Procter was the eldest child of the three daughters and three sons of Bryan Waller Procter, who as "Barry Cornwall" was known for his poetry, his drama, and his circle of literary friends. Her childhood was privileged; friends and relations filled the Procter house with brilliant company and conversation. Her mother, Anne Skepper Procter, stitched a little volume of Adelaide's favorite poems for her, and her talents for music...