Elizabeth Barrett was an accomplished and respected poet in poor health (and nearly 40 years old) when Robert Browning wrote to her: “I love your verses with all my heart, dear Miss Barrett,” and praising their “fresh strange music, the affluent language, the exquisite pathos and true new brave thought.” They courted in secret because of her family’s disapproval. She wrote, “I am not of a cold nature, & cannot bear to be treated coldly. When cold water is thrown upon a hot iron, the iron hisses.” They married in 1846, living among fellow writers and artists for the rest of her life. When she died, it was in Robert Browning’s arms.
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