CMP Review 2026-09-02

September 2, 2026

Did you know Edith Holden and her siblings were home educated by their mother?

With a steady diet of literature, poetry, painting and nature, it came as no surprise that four of the girls went on to become successful artists, illustrators, and authors who worked in a variety of media. Edith, Violet, and Evelyn attended the Birmingham School of Arts on scholarships, while Effie traveled to Sweden to study the Arts & Crafts movement.

Edith illustrated Effie’s poetry, and an example is found in the double-page spread shown here with the poem “Poppies”:

Go — bring me poppies! — airy forms and slight,
   Tethered to earth and drunk with sun and wind;
Gathered from gardens sown for sweet Delight,
   Or graves where Ruin sits, with ampler mind.

More examples can be found in The Nature Notes of an Edwardian Lady under the names E. M. Heath and E. M. Holden.

@rbaburina