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1858-1889
Poet and philosopher. Constance Caroline Woodhill Naden was born in January 1858 in Edgbaston, Birmingham. She was an only child. Her father was an architect and later a president of the Birmingham Architectural Association. Her mother died within a fortnight of her birth and so Constance was brought up by her grandparents, who were devout members of the baptist church and are known to have had refined literary taste. From the age of eight she went to a local Unitarian day-school, developing her skills as a painter. On leaving school at sixteen she submitted some of her paintings to the Birmingham Society of Artists, but on their rejection she turned her attention to the study of philosophy and languages. From 1879 she attended the Birmingham and Midlands Institute, studying botany. She extended her interests in scientific matters more widely, particularly from 1881 through courses at Mason College and membership of the Birmingham Natural History Society. The teachings of Herbert Spencer were particularly attractive to her and she adopted the principles of social Darwinism in her subsequent writing.
On the death of her grandmother in 1887 Constance inherited a fortune and was able to embark upon a foreign tour, with a friend, taking in Constantinople, Palestine, Egypt and India. On her return to England in June 1888 she settled in London and entered into scientific society life. She also lectured on matters of women's suffrage. Her health was to soon fail, however, and died on Christmas Eve, 1889 following an operation. She was buried at Key Hill Cemetery, Hockley, Birmingham (Section P, Grave No 460).
Constance Naden only published two volumes of poetry, turning her thoughts to more diverse scientific writing. Her first, Songs and sonnets of Springtime, was published in 1881 before she had fully developed her scientific interests. Her second collection, A modern apostle, followed in 1887. Turning her back on verse as "mere amusement" she became an accomplished writer of essays and Induction and deduction won her the Heslop Gold Medal. It was published in book form, with other essays, in 1890. On her death her poetry gained new recognition, especially following an article by William Gladstone in the Spectator (11 January 1890). A complete edition of her poetry was published in 1894.
The complete poetical works of Constance Naden
(1894)
Induction and deduction, and other essays (1890)
A modern apostle, the elixir of life, the story of Clarice and
other poems (1887)
Songs and sonnets of springtime (1881)
The Victorian Women Writers Project has a comprehensive digital copy of The complete poetical works of Constance Naden (1894). It includes illustrations, the Foreword by Robert Lewins and the very interesting advertisements that appeared at the back of the volume.
William R. Hughes, F.L..S., Treasurer of the City of Birmingham, compiled Constance Naden; A memoir. This 112 page slim volume was published in 1890. Described as "a pleasantly-written Memoir" it contains contributions from other friends, including a note from Herbert Spencer, who compares her philosophical capacity with that of George Eliot.
Page created 9 February 2001 and last
updated 31 October 2005
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