Oliver Madox Brown
Oliver Madox Brown was an English painter and writer, born in Finchley, England, to Ford Madox Brown, a prominent painter and writer. He began his artistic journey at a young age, writing a long story of illicit love at sixteen, which was later published in a sanitized version as "Gabriel Denver" in 1873. Brown also composed Victorian sonnets that remain notable in literary circles today. Although he was not an official member of the Pre-Raphaelite movement, he was associated with the group and garnered interest for his talent. Tragically, he died at just nineteen years old from blood poisoning, following a bout of gout. His passing prompted reflections on his potential, inspiring a poem by the poet Dante Gabriel Rossetti and an article by his friend Philip Bourke Marston. Despite not being as frequently anthologized today, Brown's poetry, particularly his sonnets, continues to be accessible and appreciated, marking him as a significant, albeit brief, figure in the literary landscape of his time.
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Subject Terms
Oliver Madox Brown
Writer
- Born: January 20, 1855
- Birthplace: Grove Villas, Finchley, England
- Died: November 5, 1874
Biography
Born in Finchley, England, to the second wife of renowned painter and writer Ford Madox Brown, Oliver Madox Brown may have been the subject for his father’s The English Boy and other works. Like his father, he took up painting and writing. At age sixteen he began writing a long story of illicit love, a sanitized version of which was published in 1873 as Gabriel Denver. In the same period, Brown wrote Victorian sonnets that are still in circulation today. Although not officially a member of the nineteenth century Pre-Raphaelite aesthetic movement, Brown was nevertheless associated with the group. In 1874, at age nineteen, Brown died of blood poisoning after suffering from gout. The poet Dante Gabriel Rossetti wrote a poem in memory of the young writer and his promising talent. Brown’s close friend Philip Bourke Marston wrote an article about the young poet in Scribner’s Monthly in 1876, the year Brown’s romance The Black Swan (sanitized earlier as Gabriel Denver) was published posthumously. Although not as often anthologized now, Brown and his poetry are still found with relative ease. His facility with the sonnet form in poetry drew considerable attention, as did his untimely death at the height of his father’s fame in artistic circles. Pre-Raphaelites took note of the young poet’s promise and mourned literature’s loss.