Reading Groups

Elizabeth Barrett Browning's Aurora Leigh with Joanna Biggs

Once a week Thursdays, 6:30 pm EDT - 8:00 pm EDT July 16 to August 6, 2026

The Center for Fiction

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The ‘With Books’ option includes the title required for this group at a 10% discount from our Bookstore.

Meeting Dates:
7/16, 7/23, 7/30, 8/6
In Person at The Center for Fiction

Aurora Leigh (1856) was one of the first books to track a woman’s development as an artist, and was an inspiration to Virginia Woolf, Emily Dickinson, Susan B. Anthony, and George Eliot. We will read Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s greatest work together and think about what holds women back and what propels them forward. What has changed in women’s artistic lives, and what can we learn from the past? Does love help a writer or hinder her? Does travel help? What does it take to write in a new form? We also will look into Barrett Browning’s extraordinary life in Florence, Italy, after she eloped from England with the poet Robert Browning, and the way she takes the blank verse form to new heights.

Reading List:

What to expect from this reading group: This will be a conversational course, and participants will be encouraged to share their experience of reading the book.

What to read in advance of the first meeting: Please read the first two books of Aurora Leigh in advance of the first meeting.

We offer a limited number of need-based scholarships for our Reading Groups and Writing Workshops, covering 50% of tuition. Applicants selected for scholarships will be notified one week prior to the first meeting. To apply for a scholarship, please fill out this form.

Pricing inclusive of sales tax if applicable.

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About this series

Reading Groups

Whether you’re looking to catch up on great novels or you’re interested in exploring a new writer or literary period, our reading groups offer high-level literary discussion led by experts in the field.

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