Sonnets From the Portuguese

Elizabeth Barrett Browning's Sonnets to the Portuguese are widely considered among the greatest cycle of sonnets in the English language. This collection of love poems was written between 1845-46 to fellow poet and her soon-to-be husband, Robert Browning. Originally, Browning had no intention of publishing the poetry owing to its deeply personal subject matter, but her husband convinced her to publish them in the 1850 edition of her Poems. Originally, however, she was reportedly to have called the collection Sonnets from the Bosnian but was convinced to change the title to Sonnets from the Portuguese, also on her husband's suggestion. The Sonnets (as they are often called) are interesting as far as their collectibility is concerned. They were not originally published as a standalone work, but in Barrett's first compilation of poetry, Poems. First published in 1844, it did not contain the Sonnets initially. This distinction was to belong in fact to the second edition of 1850, published in 2 octavo volumes by Chapman and Hall in dark blue gilt cloth, making the second edition of Poems more valuable and collectible than the first edition. This is, of course, a rarity in the world of book collecting. The first state contains the address for the publisher on the title page as 186, Strand, rather than 193, Piccaddilly. The second edition of Poems (containing Sonnets from the Portuguese) is rather uncommon, but will typically fetch $5,000 or more, depending on condition.