Amy Levy Biography

Amy Levy was a British poetess and novelist, one of the most remembered authors of the Victorian era. She came from an Anglo-Jewish family and became an author during the height of the Victorian Era. A member of the rich intellectual community of London, she published several poems and articles as well as a few novels. Her literary career started at a very young age—when her family participated in home theater productions, she used to contribute with her writing skills. At an early age, she gained independence and unlike most women of that era, she lived on her own away from her family. She was one of the first women to travel through London and abroad without a chaperone. Despite battling debilitating melancholy, she was a vibrant member of the London intellectual society. Her work was heavily influenced by the philosophies of the German Pessimists, the Aestheticism movement and other Victorian women writers. She identified herself as an Anglo-Jew, but was frequently critical of the Jewish community. She was also critical of the materialism, philistinism and complacency she saw in London Society. She was a talented writer but unfortunately, she ended her life at the age of 27 because of her growing depression. Her prominent works examined, among other topics, the realities of Jewish life in Europe and England, English Society, feminism and the popular philosophies of her era.