Algernon Swinburne

Algernon Swinburne (1837 – 1909) was born in London and spent most of his childhood on the Isle of Wight. He was involved with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, after meeting Dante Gabriel Rosetti at Oxford University. A radical character, he was a poet, playwright, novelist and critic, who invented the poetic ‘roundel’ form. His books include three series of Poems and Ballads and Atalanta in Calydon (1865).