History Creator / AlgernonCharlesSwinburne

* BrainsAndBondage: All of Swinburne's main characters are highly intelligent, creative, well-educated and kinky.

Algernon Charles Swinburne (5 April 1837 - 10 April 1909) was an English poet, novelist, playwright, and literary critic. He is best known for his debut poetry collection ''Poems and Ballads'' which was almost banned due to its frank depictions of same-sex desire and kinks. Swinburne was also the author of several plays and two novels (although only one, ''Love's Cross-Currents'' was completed and published during his lifetime; his incomplete second novel ''Lesbia Brandon'' was released posthumously), and he contributed to the Eleventh Edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica.

-->--'''Algernon Charles Swinburne''', ''Fragoletta''

Swinburne was educated at Eton (where he may have developed his fascination with flagellation) and later matriculated at Balliol College, Oxford. There, he met and formed lasting friendships with Pre-Raphaelite artists and writers, including William Morris, Edward Burne-Jones, and Dante Gabriel Rossetti, but he left without completing his degree. His father disapproved of his son's withdrawal but provided him a permanent allowance; Swinburne moved to London and devoted his life to writing.

->''O LOVE! what shall be said of thee?
-> The son of grief begot by joy?
-> Being sightless, wilt thou see?
-> Being sexless, wilt thou be
-> Maiden or boy?''

->''"Life is the lust of a lamp for the light that is dark till the dawn of the day that we die."''
-->--'''Algernon Charles Swinburne''', ''Nephelidia''

In 1860, Swinburne published two verse dramas in the volume ''The Queen-Mother and Rosamond'', which was largely ignored. However, he wrote ''Atlanta in Calydon'', an imitation of Greek tragedy, in 1865, which was an instant success; Creator/AlfredLordTennyson praised the work highly. The following year, Swinburne published ''Poems and Ballads'', and the work brought him instant notoriety, in no small part because of its choice of topics (including sadomasochism, lesbianism, necrophilia, and anti-Christianity).

Swinburne continued to live with Watts-Dunton at The Pines, Putney, until his death from pneumonia on 10 April 1909.

Swinburne is considered a poet of the Decadent movement, though he might have professed to more vice than he actually indulged in to advertise his deviance; he spread a rumour that he had sex with a monkey and then ate it, but Creator/OscarWilde, another major figure of the Decadent movement, said that Swinburne was "a braggart in matters of vice, who had done everything he could to convince his fellow citizens of his homosexuality and bestiality without being in the slightest degree a homosexual or a bestialiser." Despite his outlandish claims, Swinburne was private and cautious when it came to his bisexuality; though he wrote vast amounts of flagellation literature which eroticises both men and women, and helped inspire the page quote for BrainsAndBondage in the process, it was all published anonymously to protect him from the era's harsh sodomy laws.

* DefectorFromDecadence: Played straight and then subverted in 'Laus Veneris'. The protagonist, who has been living a dissolute life of nonstop sex with Venus herself, attempts to break free of her clutches and reconcile with the Christian God... who tells him that he is too sinful ever to go to Heaven. The protagonist promptly does a FaceHeelTurn and goes straight back to Venus. The HomoeroticSubtext of being cast out of Christianity because you are too sexually sinful to be sent anywhere but Hell is very apparent.

* RapeByProxy: Narrowly averted. Linley, in ''Lesbia Brandon'' puts pressure on a clearly uncomfortable Bertie to sleep with a sex worker he has hired. Bertie overcomes his shyness and declines when things start to escalate, but is humiliated by the experience.

Swinburne is considered a poet of the Decadent movement, though he might have professed to more vice than he actually indulged in to advertise his deviance; he spread a rumour that he had sex with a monkey and then ate it, but Creator/OscarWilde, another major figure of the Decadent movement, said that Swinburne was "a braggart in matters of vice, who had done everything he could to convince his fellow citizens of his homosexuality and bestiality without being in the slightest degree a homosexual or a bestialiser."

Algernon Charles Swinburne (5 April 1837 - 10 April 1909) was an English poet, novelist, playwright, and literary critic. He is best known for his debut poetry collection ''Poems and Ballads'' which was almost banned due to its frank depictions of same-sex desire, genderqueering, and kinks. Swinburne was also the author of several plays and two novels (although only one, ''Love's Cross-Currents'' was completed and published during his lifetime; his incomplete second novel ''Lesbia Brandon'' was released posthumously) and he contributed to the Eleventh Edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica.

Algernon was born in London on 5 April 1837, the eldest of six children to Captain (later Admiral) Charles Henry Swinburne (1797-1877) and Lady Jane Henrietta, daughter of the 3rd Earl of Ashburnham, a wealthy Northumbrian family. He was described as "nervous" and "frail", but "was also fired within nervous energy and fearlessness to the point of being reckless."

Swinburne was educated at Eton (where he may have developed his fascination with flagellation) and later matriculated at Balliol College, Oxford. There, he met and formed lasting friendships with Pre-Raphaelite artists and writers, including William Morris, Edward Burne-Jones, and Dante Gabriel Rossetti, but he left without completing his degree. His father disapproved of his son's withdrawal, but provided him with a permanent allowance; Swinburne moved to London and devoted his life to writing.

In September 1879, Swinburne's health worsened and he collapsed, and Theodore Watts-Dunton, Swinburne's friend and literary agent, had to intervene. He took Swinburne to a suburban home in Putney and imposed a regimen on him that led Swinburne's health to improve and end his drinking; Swinburne eventually lost his youthful rebelliousness and turned into a figure of social respectability. Watts-Dunton encouraged him to continue writing, and many more volumes of poetry followed, including the second and third series of ''Poems and Ballads'' (1878 and 1889) and ''Tristram of Lyonesse'' (1882). In addition, Swinburne published many dramas and works of literary criticism. He wrote in various literary forms, from classical verse styles to medieval and Renaissance genres, from burlesque to ballads and roundels, and had a large influence on early Modern poets.

* EveryoneIsBi: Not outright stated due to its illegality in Victorian England, but implied to be the case in most of Swinburne's novels and plays. Bertie Seyton, the protagonist of ''Lesbia Brandon'', is attracted to women but enjoys being beaten by his male tutor. The only character who is confirmed not to be bisexual is Lesbia herself, with tragic consequences for herself and Bertie.

* TheVamp: Some of the most iconic examples in Victorian poetry, and Swinburne's favourite trope for his female characters. They're typically paired with a male LoveMartyr.

Algernon Charles Swinburne (5 April 1837 - 10 April 1909) was an English poet, novelist, playwright, and literary critic. He is best known for his debut poetry collection ''Poems and Ballads'' which was almost banned due to its frank depictions of same-sex desire, genderqueering and kink. Swinburne was also the author of several plays and two novels (although only one, ''Love's Cross-Currents'' was completed and published during his lifetime; his incomplete second novel ''Lesbia Brandon'' was released posthumously) and he contributed to the Eleventh Edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica.

In September 1879, Swinburne's health turned for the worse and he collapsed, and Theodore Watts-Dunton, Swinburne's friend and literary agent, had to intervene. He took Swinburne to a suburban home in Putney and imposed a regimen on him that led Swinburne's health to improve and end his drinking; Swinburne eventually lost his youthful rebelliousness and turned into a figure of social respectability. Watts-Dunton encouraged him to continue writing, and many more volumes of poetry followed, including the second and third series of ''Poems and Ballads'' (1878 and 1889) and ''Tristram of Lyonesse'' (1882). In addition, Swinburne published many dramas and works of literary criticism. He wrote in various literary forms, from classical verse styles to medieval and Renaissance genres, from burlesque to ballads and roundels, and had a large influence on early Modern poets.

Swinburne is a considered poet of the Decadent movement, though he might have professed to more vice than he actually indulged in to advertise his deviance; he spread a rumour that he had sex with a monkey and then ate it, but Creator/OscarWilde, another major figure of the Decadent movement, said that Swinburne was "a braggart in matters of vice, who had done everything he could to convince his fellow citizens of his homosexuality and bestiality without being in the slightest degree a homosexual or a bestialiser."

* AuthorAvatar: Swinburne openly admitted that he modelled the character of Bertie Seyton - a sensitive, idealistic Eton boy who likes reading poetry, cross-dressing and being whipped, and who is implied to be bisexual - on himself.
* BalladOfX: Several examples from ''Poems and Ballads'', as you might expect. 'A Ballad of Life', 'A Ballad of Death' and 'A Ballad of Burdens' stand out.

* DownerEnding: Swinburne never finished ''Lesbia Brandon'', but it ends extremely badly for both Lesbia and Bertie, an the other characters don't seem to be headed for happy endings either.

* EvilIsSexy: Swinburne's favourite trope for his female characters, typically paired with a male LoveMartyr.

* TheVamp: Some of the most iconic examples in Victorian poetry.

* EveryoneIsBi: Not outright stated due to its illegality in Victorian England, but implied to be the case in most of Swinburne's novels and plays. Bertie Seyton, the protagonist of ''Lesbia Brandon'', is attracted to women but enjoys being beaten by his male tutor. The only character who is absolutely not bisexual is Lesbia herself, with tragic consequences for herself and Bertie.

* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Swinburne is very fond of dishing these out - a lot of his poetry is written from the perspective of a narrator whose lover has deserted them. 'Satia Te Sanguine', 'Felise' and 'The Triumph of Time' are particularly famous examples.

* AuthorAvatar: Swinburne openly admitted that he modelled Bertie Seyton - a sensitive, idealistic Eton boy who likes reading poetry, cross-dressing and being whipped, and who is implied to be bisexual - on himself.

* GentlemanSnarker: Lady Midhurst, of ''Love's Cross-Currents'' and ''Lesbia Brandon'', is the female equivalent. Also Lord Linley, in a considerably nastier way.

Swinburne is a considered poet of the Decadent movement, though he might have professed to more vice than he actually indulged in to advertise his deviance; he spread a rumour that he had sex with a monkey and then ate it, but Creator/OscarWilde, another major figure of the Decadent movement, said that Swinburne was "a braggart in matters of vice, who had done everything he could to convince his fellow citizens of his homosexuality and bestiality without being in the slightest degree a homosexual or a bestialiser."

Algernon Charles Swinburne (5 April 1837 - 10 April 1909) was an English poet, novelist, playwright, and literary critic. He wrote several novels and collections of poetry such as ''Poems and Ballads'', and he contributed to the Eleventh Edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica.

->''"I can truly say with Shelley I have been fortunate in friendships: that I have been no less fortunate in my enemies than in my friends."''
-->--'''Algernon Charles Swinburne, From his own Dedicatory Epistle to his ''Poems & Ballads''

[[caption-width-right:350:Photograph by John McLanachan]]

Algernon Charles Swinburne (1837-1909) was an English poet, novelist, playwright and literary critic. He was instrumental in the development of Aestheticism, a nineteenth-century movement which privileged the aesthetic value of literature, music and the arts instead of their political or moral messages. Swinburne is best remembered for his highly sophisticated use of meter and rhyme, as well as his frank depictions of queerness, sexuality and sadomasochism which made him an incredibly controversial figure in the conservative atmosphere of Victorian London.

Educated at Eton and Oxford (from which he was expelled for being too politically radical), Swinburne moved to London and became involved with many of the most prominent creatives of the era, including Creator/CharlesBaudelaire and Dante Gabriel Rossetti, with whom he shared a house. Swinburne quickly became notorious for his transgressive debut poetry collection ''Poems and Ballads'', which is widely considered his masterpiece.

Educated at Eton and Oxford (from which he was expelled for being too politically radical), Swinburne moved to London and became involved with many of the most prominent creatives of the era, including Creator/CharlesBaudelaire and Dante Gabriel Rossetti, with whom he shared a house. Swinburne quickly became notorious for his transgressive debut poetry collection ''Poems and Ballads'', which is widely considered his masterpiece.

!!Works by Swinburne include examples of:
* BrainsandBondage: The page quote refers to him. Swinburne, one of the greatest poets of his generation, is almost as famous for his kink as he is for his poetry.

* Brains andBondage: The page quote refers to him. Swinburne, one of the greatest poets of his generation, is almost as famous for his kink as he is for his poetry.

* BrainsandBondage: The page quote refers to him. Swinburne, one of the greatest poets of his generation, is almost as famous for his kink as he is for his poetry.

Educated at Eton and Oxford (from which he was expelled for being too politically radical), Swinburne moved to London and became involved with many of the most prominent creatives of the era, including Creator/CharlesBaudelaire and Dante Gabriel Rossetti, with whom he shared a house. Swinburne quickly became notorious for his transgressive debut poetry collection ''Poems and Ballads'', which is widely considered his masterpiece.

Algernon Charles Swinburne(1837-1909) was an English poet, novelist, playwright and literary critic. He was instrumental in the development of Aestheticism, a nineteenth-century movement which privileged the aesthetic value of literature, music and the arts instead of their political or moral messages. Swinburne is best remembered for his highly sophisticated use of meter and rhyme, as well as his frank depictions of queerness, sexuality and sadomasochism which made him an incredibly controversial figure in the conservative atmosphere of Victorian London.

Educated at Eton and Oxford (from which he was expelled for being too politically radical), Swinburne moved to London and became involved with many of the most prominent creatives of the era, including Creator/CharlesBaudelaire and Dante Gabriel Rossetti, with whom he shared a house. Something of a disaster bisexual, Swinburne quickly became notorious for his first poetry collection Poems and Ballads.