Agnes Bulmer (31 August 1775 – 20 August 1836) was an English

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wri ...

. She is believed to have written the longest

epic poem An epic poem, or simply an epic, is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants. ...

ever written by a woman. The piece, '' Messiah's Kingdom'', took over nine years to complete.

Biography

Early life

Agnes Collinson was born on 31 August 1775 in

London, England London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major s ...

. Her parents were Edward and Elizabeth Collinson. Bulmer had two other sisters and she was the youngest. The family lived on Lombard Street in London. Bulmer's parents were Methodists, and were friends with John Wesley. Bulmer was

baptize Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...

d by Wesley and she was admitted to his school, in December 1789. She attended the City Road Chapel, and remained a member of the society until her death. She was also a devout patron of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

. The family was defined as

middle class The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. Com ...

, and Bulmer's education provided her access to

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

, which she enjoyed very much. By the age of twelve she had read

Edward Young Edward Young (c. 3 July 1683 – 5 April 1765) was an English poet, best remembered for ''Night-Thoughts'', a series of philosophical writings in blank verse, reflecting his state of mind following several bereavements. It was one of the mos ...

's ''

Night-Thoughts ''The Complaint: or, Night-Thoughts on Life, Death, & Immortality'', better known simply as ''Night-Thoughts'', is a long poem by Edward Young published in nine parts (or "nights") between 1742 and 1745. It was illustrated with notable engrav ...

''. It was a major influence on her own style. By age fourteen she had published her first work, ''On the Death of

Charles Wesley Charles Wesley (18 December 1707 – 29 March 1788) was an English leader of the Methodist movement. Wesley was a prolific hymnwriter who wrote over 6,500 hymns during his lifetime. His works include "And Can It Be", "Christ the Lord Is Risen T ...

''. Wesley sent her a personal note, thanking her for the piece, he also advised her to "Beware of pride; beware of flattery; suffer none to commend you to your face; remember, one good temper is of more value, in the sight of God, than a thousand good verses. All you want is to have the mind that was in Christ, and to walk as Christ walked." In school, she befriended Elizabeth Richie Mortimer and Sarah Wesley, the latter being the wife of

. She studied under Hester Ann Rogers in school, and would eventually write an

elegy An elegy is a poem of serious reflection, and in English literature usually a lament for the dead. However, according to ''The Oxford Handbook of the Elegy'', "for all of its pervasiveness ... the 'elegy' remains remarkably ill defined: sometime ...

upon Rogers death.

Mid-life

She married Joseph Bulmer in 1793. He was a London-based warehouse worker and merchant, also involved in the

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

church. He was financially successful and popular within the church, and other non-church related local communities. The couple socialized frequently, spending time with the likes of

Adam Clarke Adam Clarke (176226 August 1832) was a British Methodist theologian who served three times as President of the Wesleyan Methodist Conference (1806–07, 1814–15 and 1822–23). A biblical scholar, he published an influential Bible commentar ...

Joseph Benson Joseph Benson (26 January 1749 – 16 February 1821) was an early English Methodist minister, one of the leaders of the movement during the time of Methodism's founder John Wesley. Life The son of John Benson and Isabella Robinson, his wife, he ...

Jabez Bunting Jabez Bunting (13 May 1779 – 16 June 1858) was an English Wesleyan Methodist leader and the most prominent Methodist after John Wesley's death in 1791. Bunting began as a revivalist but became dedicated to church order and discipline. He w ...

, and Richard Watson. Clarke was fond of Bulmer, and stated that she "astonished" him with her intellect and skill. She was described as being a "match for men," in ''

Wesleyan Methodist Magazine The ''Wesleyan Methodist Magazine'' was a monthly Methodist magazine published between 1778 and 1969. Founded by John Wesley as the ''Arminian Magazine'', it was retitled the ''Methodist Magazine'' in 1798 and as the ''Wesleyan Methodist Magazi ...

'' regarding her intelligence and interests. However, she was often described as being equal yet "feminine" in her qualities by writers, showing that while men believed her to be equal, she was still "domestic" and "delicate," according to William Bunting, and other writers.

Later life

Bulmer taught at City Road Chapel, until 1822, and wrote. She was involved in social activities, including the Ladies Working Society, and also did visits at hospitals and with the poor. During this period she worked on

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts ...

stories for children, which were published as ''Scripture Histories.'' Joseph Bulmer died on 23 July 1822 from an illness. Bulmer's mother died also. She entered into a deep period of mourning, and wrote a lot of poetry related to death. Bulmer became sick during a trip to the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a Counties of England, county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the List of islands of England#Largest islands, largest and List of islands of England#Mo ...

, and died on 20 August 1836. William Bunting presided over the funeral. She is buried in City Road Chapel.

Work

Her earliest published work was ''On the Death of Charles Wesley,'' in 1788. Bulmer wrote an elegy for Hester Ann Rogers, after Rogers died in 1793. The piece was published in 1794. She wrote ''Messiah's Kingdom'', an

. The latter was published in a series of twelve books, in 1833. ''Messiahs' Kingdom'' is considered the longest poem ever written by a woman. The piece took nine years to complete, with over 14,000 lines. Her children's biblical stories, ''Scripture Histories,'' were regularly published in Methodist publications. She wrote her first biography in 1835, about her friend Elizabeth Mortimer, ''The Memoirs of Elizabeth Mortimer''.

References