Inscribed by the author on the dedication-page, designating this as ‘Written by Violet Clifton’, and the copy of ‘S. Hedley’ - her dating of the inscription as ‘1838’ is a mere century errant.
A religious meditation in the form of a verse-dialogue between The Woman and Dante. Violet Clifton, née Beauclerk and a descendant of Charles Beauclerk (therefore also of his parents, King Charles II and Nell Gwyn), was the wife of explorer Talbot Clifton: her work included travel narratives of their journeys together, drama, biography (of her husband) as well as verse; her work, frequently possessed of a visionary quality, drew admirers including Nevill Coghill - who nominated her for the Nobel Prize in 1935.
The uncommon dustjacket provides additional text in the form of its blurb, but also in the note by T.S. Gregory printed to its rear panel, which reinforces its status as a Catholic love-poem.