Eliza Flower (1803 – 12 December 1846) was a British musician and composer. In addition to her own work, Flower became known for her friendships including those with

William Johnson Fox William Johnson Fox (1 March 1786 – 3 June 1864) was an English Unitarian minister, politician, and political orator. Early life Fox was born at Uggeshall Farm, Wrentham, near Southwold, Suffolk on 1 March 1786. His parents were strict Cal ...

Robert Browning Robert Browning (7 May 1812 – 12 December 1889) was an English poet and playwright whose dramatic monologues put him high among the Victorian poets. He was noted for irony, characterization, dark humour, social commentary, historical settings ...

John Stuart Mill John Stuart Mill (20 May 1806 – 7 May 1873) was an English philosopher, political economist, Member of Parliament (MP) and civil servant. One of the most influential thinkers in the history of classical liberalism, he contributed widely to ...

and Harriet Taylor.

Biography

Flower was born at

Harlow Harlow is a large town and local government district located in the west of Essex, England. Founded as a new town, it is situated on the border with Hertfordshire and London, Harlow occupies a large area of land on the south bank of the upp ...

, Essex in 1803 to radical journalist

Benjamin Flower Benjamin Flower (1755 – 17 February 1829) was an English radical journalist and political writer, and a vocal opponent of his country's involvement in the early stages of the Napoleonic Wars. Early life He was born in London, the son of a pro ...

and

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

Eliza Gould. Her younger sister was the poet

Sarah Fuller Flower Adams Sarah Fuller Flower Adams (or Sally Adams) (22 February 1805 – 14 August 1848) was an English poet and hymnwriter. A selection of hymns she wrote, published by William Johnson Fox, included her best-known one, "Nearer, My God, to Thee", report ...

. From the age of four, Eliza Flower showed a promising aptitude for music and composition. Flower, her father and her sister were all regular contributors to Unitarian minister

's periodical the ''

Monthly Repository The ''Monthly Repository'' was a British monthly Unitarian periodical which ran between 1806 and 1838. In terms of editorial policy on theology, the ''Repository'' was largely concerned with rational dissent. Considered as a political journal, it ...

''. Following Benjamin Flower's death, Eliza and Sarah lived with Fox as his wards until Sarah's marriage in 1834 to

William Bridges Adams William Bridges Adams (1797 – 23 July 1872) was an English author, inventor and locomotive engineer. He is best known for his patented Adams axle – a successful radial axle design in use on railways in Britain until the end of steam trac ...

, and Eliza's death in 1846. Fox was married (and separated) and his friendship with Eliza Flower, and their living arrangements, though platonic, brought rumour and social ostracism towards her. Flower and Fox were friends with unmarried couple, politician and philosopher

and women's rights advocate Harriet Taylor. Flower's first published musical work was ''Four Musical Illustrations of the Waverley Novels'' in 1831, setting to music several of

Sir Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels '' Ivanhoe'', '' Rob Roy' ...

's romantic songs. She later wrote music for works by her sister, including her hymn "

Nearer, My God, to Thee "Nearer, My God, to Thee" is a 19th-century Christian hymn by Sarah Flower Adams, which retells the story of Jacob's dream. Genesis 28:11–12 can be translated as follows: "So he came to a certain place and stayed there all night, because t ...

", which formed part of a collection by Fox called ''Hymns and Anthems''. Her chorus ''Now pray we for our Country'' achieved some popularity. Scholes, Percy. ''The Mirror of Music'' (1947), p. 733 She wrote music sung at the funeral of Hindu reformist

Ram Mohan Roy Raja Ram Mohan Roy ( bn, রামমোহন রায়; 22 May 1772 – 27 September 1833) was an Indian reformer who was one of the founders of the Brahmo Sabha in 1828, the precursor of the Brahmo Samaj, a social-religious reform m ...

. During her lifetime, reviewers considered her the greatest female composer. The ''Musical Times'' of January 1846 says – "The selection of Sacred Music from the works of Miss Eliza Flower was repeated to a very full audience on the 10th at Crosby Hall, and highly delighted a very crowded audience". Flower died on 12 December 1846 from

consumption Consumption may refer to: *Resource consumption *Tuberculosis, an infectious disease, historically * Consumption (ecology), receipt of energy by consuming other organisms * Consumption (economics), the purchasing of newly produced goods for curren ...

while at

Hurstpierpoint Hurstpierpoint is a village in West Sussex, England, southwest of Burgess Hill, and west of Hassocks railway station. It sits in the civil parish of Hurstpierpoint and Sayers Common which has an area of 2029.88 ha and a population ...

, near Brighton.

Friendship with Robert Browning

Flower and her sister Sarah became acquainted with the young poet

. Flower was shown a manuscript of Browning's ''Incondita'', a collection of poems written at the age of 12, by his mother. Impressed, Flower showed them to

W. J. Fox William Johnson Fox (1 March 1786 – 3 June 1864) was an English Unitarian minister, politician, and political orator. Early life Fox was born at Uggeshall Farm, Wrentham, near Southwold, Suffolk on 1 March 1786. His parents were strict Calv ...

. Fox also liked the poems but convinced Browning that they were not good enough for publication. The poems were eventually destroyed by Browning, with much of his other work, in 1884. Browning developed a boyish love for Flower, nine years his senior, and remained fond of her until her death. She was the inspiration for his poem "Pauline".

Works

*1831: ''Four Musical Illustrations of the Waverley Novels'' *1832: "The Gathering of the Unions" *1834: ''Songs of the Seasons'' *1841: ''Hymns and Anthems'' (including "

References

1803 births 1846 deaths 19th-century British composers 19th-century English musicians English composers People associated with Conway Hall Ethical Society People from Harlow 19th-century women composers Tuberculosis deaths in England 19th-century deaths from tuberculosis {{UK-composer-stub