Emily Honoria Patmore. Click on image for larger picture.
Patmore married his third (and final!) wife, Miss Harriet Robson on September 13th 1881. An older schoolmate of Emily Honoria, Patmore's daughter, Harriet had become governess for the Patmores during Marianne's illness.Two years after his marriage to Harriet, Patmore saw the birth of his last son, Francis Joseph Mary Epiphanius.
Patmore saw the birth of his last son only a year after the death of his daughter Emily Honoria at which time he became acquainted with Alice Meynell, a fellow poet and admirer of Patmore's verse. Various biographical sources differ on the nature of their relationship, some suggesting that the two may have harbored more than merely platonic feelings for each another. Regardless of the nature of the poets' personal feelings for each other, both poets certainly assisted one another in their careers. Meynell, for example, wrote an appreciative essay reviewing Patmore's latter work, "The Unknown Eros." In 1892, when Tennyson died, opening the doors for a new poet laureate, many of Patmore's friends tried to have him appointed for the position. Patmore, who thought himself unfit for the post, in turn suggested Alice Meynell. At the time, the Patmores were living in a lodge at Lymington, Hampshire, having moved in 1891 from Hastings. Nonetheless, it was not too long, only four years after Tennyson's death, when Coventry Patmore also passed away on November 26th of 1896. He was laid to rest on December 1st in the Roman Catholic portion of the Lymington cemetery. Excerpts from his poetry, odes, and essays appear etched into the sides of his tombstone.
Related Materials
- Chronology
- Patmore's Youth, 1823-1847
- Patmore's Marriage to Emily Augusta Andrews, 1847-1860
- Patmore's Marriage to Marianne Caroline Byles, 1864-1880
- Patmore's Religious Background and Conversions
References
Champneys, Basil. Memoirs and correspondence of Coventry Patmore. 2 vols. London, G. Bell & Sons, 1900.
Last updated 29 June 2004