"The Victoria Regia"
Leighton, John, and Adelaide Anne Procter. The Victoria Regia: A Volume of Original Contributions in Poetry and Prose. London: Emily Faithfull, 1861.
Adelaide Anne Proctor was one of Queen Victoria’s favorite poets and the editor for The Victoria Regia. Proctor was a vocal women’s rights activist and Catholic philanthropist. She was a member of the National Association for the Promotion of Social Science, a committee that focused on ways for women to enter the workforce. The Victoria Regia was a project of the Victoria Press, which was created in 1860 for the employment of women. The founder of the press, Emily Faithfull, was a member of the Society for the Promotion of the Employment of Women, and she helped train women in book publishing. The Victoria Regia, a collection of prose and poetry, was dedicated to Queen Victoria and showcased writings primarily by women. A handful of the pieces demonstrate the time period’s interest in medievalism and mourning culture.