ONE SOUL WE DIVIDED

A fascinating look into the personal lives of two queer female Victorian authors

Author: Carolyn Dever Publisher: Princeton University Press Price: £25 Released: Out now

“Dever’s extensive and meticulous work makes the journals highly accessible”

When picking up a copy of One Soul We Divided: A Critical Edition of the Diary of Michael Field, one would presume that they are about to delve into the life of some gentleman called Michael Field. But how wrong you would be. In this momentous text, readers are able to explore the personal thoughts, feelings and ideas of two extraordinary Victorian women: Katharine Harris Bradley (1846-1914) and Edith Emma Cooper (1862-1913). Together they shared the pseudonym of Michael Field, a nom de plume under which they published a number of plays and poems that were met favourably by Victorian society. The pair managed to maintain their anonymity using the name Michael Field, until fellow poet Robert Browning let slip the truth about the pair’s identities.

The relationship between Bradley and Cooper was unconventional to say the least. The pair were joined by their literary endeavours, their shared pen name, and the fact that they were lovers for over 40 years. However, the two women were also aunt and niece, a shocking factor in the couple’s relationship, particularly to a modern reader. Bradley was 16 years Cooper’s senior and was the sister of Cooper’s mother, Emma. In this critical edition of their shared diaries, editor Carolyn Dever highlights early on that there are few insights into how and/or if the couple managed to reconcile the reality of their romantic relationship with their familial ties. But, this is what makes the diary of Michael Field so astounding, as Dever points out. Within the pages of the diary, both Bradley and Cooper write about their lives together with very little comment that would suggest that any of their family or friends raised concerns about a pairing that we, as 21st century readers, would absolutely categorise as incestuous. Rather, the words written by this unusual couple reflect a ‘normative’ dynamic between the two and the rest of the world.

The diaries of Michael Field, which were written between 1867 and 1914 and originally entitled ‘Works and Days’, were always intended by their authors to be read by future generations. In Carolyn Dever’s effort to bring the diaries to a wider audience, she helpfully provides a family tree, an explanation of the wide array of characters mentioned by Bradley and Cooper, and further explanatory notes to help readers make sense of the 10,000 diary pages left behind by the authors. Though reading the diary can still feel confusing at times, Dever’s extensive and meticulous work makes the journals highly accessible.

The insight these texts provide into Victorian life at the turn of the century is astounding, particularly from the female perspective. But it is perhaps the distinct voices of Bradley and Cooper, and their separately captivating prose that makes these diaries such a joy to become engrossed in. An impressive feat by Carolyn Dever and a fascinating journal of queer female life and the literary circles of Victorian England, this critical edition is a must-read for those intrigued by LGBTQ+ and women’s history.