MEYNELL, ALICE

born Sept. 22, 1847, Barnes, near London, Eng. died Nov. 27, 1922, London in full Alice Christiana Gertrude Meynell, ne Thompson English poet and essayist. Much of Meynell's childhood was spent in Italy, and about 1872 she converted to Roman Catholicism, which was reflected in her writing. Encouraged by Alfred Tennyson and Coventry Patmore, she published her first volume of poems, Preludes, in 1875. One sonnet, My Heart Shall Be Thy Garden, brought her the friendship of Wilfrid Meynell (18521948), whom she married in 1877, bearing him eight children. She continued to pursue her literary activities, helping her husband, who edited the Weekly Register, and in 1883 they launched Merry England (188395), 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. 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 death of Tennyson.