Michael Bradley

Michael Field was the shared pen name of Katherine Harris Bradley (1846–1914) and her niece Edith Emma Cooper (1862–1913). Together, they produced around 40 literary works, including poetry and verse dramas, and a lengthy journal. Their intention was to conceal their individual identities, but this secret was eventually revealed.

Bradley, born in Birmingham, had familial connections to followers of Joanna Southcott, a prophetess. She received some formal education, attending lectures at the Collège de France and a course at Newnham College, Cambridge. Cooper was born in Kenilworth, and Katherine Bradley became her guardian after Cooper's mother fell ill. The two women developed a close relationship, eventually becoming lesbian partners and co-authors. They were influenced by Aestheticism and figures like Walter Pater, and cultivated a wide circle of artistic and literary friends, including Robert Browning, Oscar Wilde, Charles Ricketts, and Charles Shannon. Despite financial independence and early critical attention, their recognition waned, possibly due to the revelation of their joint identity.

Their shared life and creative output reflected a deep bond, with their pseudonym serving as a symbol of their unity. They were devoted to each other and their pets, as documented in their journal. Their spiritual journey included a conversion to Roman Catholicism in 1907, which influenced their later writings, contrasting with the classical and pagan influences of their earlier work. Both women died of cancer within a year of each other.

Katherine Bradley, born in Birmingham in 1846, had a family history connected to religious movements, as her grandfather was a supporter of prophetess Joanna Southcott. She pursued education through lectures at the Collège de France and a course at Newnham College, Cambridge, though she did not obtain a degree. Her sister Emma married James Robert Cooper, and after Emma became an invalid, Katherine Bradley assumed guardianship of her niece, Edith Emma Cooper, born in 1862. Bradley initially published under the pseudonym Arran Leigh. Cooper later adopted the name Isla Leigh for their first collaborative work, 'Bellerophôn'. The two women eventually agreed to live together, embarking on a lifelong romantic and creative partnership spanning over 40 years.

As Michael Field, Katherine Bradley and Edith Cooper produced approximately 40 works together, including their first joint publication, 'Callirhöe and Fair Rosamund' in 1884. Their writing was deeply influenced by the Aesthetic movement, particularly the ideas of Walter Pater. They maintained extensive social connections within artistic and literary circles, befriending figures such as Charles Ricketts, Charles Shannon, Robert Browning, and Oscar Wilde. Their relationship was characterized by a profound intellectual and emotional connection, with their pseudonym symbolizing their inseparable union. They also shared a deep affection for their pets, notably their dog Whym Chow, to whom they dedicated a book of poems.

The lives of Bradley and Cooper were marked by significant personal and spiritual developments. Following the death of Cooper's father in 1899, they purchased a home together, an event Cooper interpreted as a consequence of their lifestyle. She later became a driving force in their conversion to active Catholicism in 1907. This spiritual shift influenced their later writings, which took on devotional themes, contrasting with their earlier works that drew inspiration from classical and Renaissance paganism, notably from figures like Sappho. Their personal lives were also touched by illness; Cooper was diagnosed with cancer in 1911, and Bradley in 1913. They died within a year of each other, both succumbing to the disease.

Despite their prolific output and connections within the literary elite, the critical recognition for Michael Field's work was not consistently sustained, a situation often linked to the public knowledge of their dual authorship. Their extensive diaries, preserved and digitized, offer insights into their lives and creative process. A tombstone was designed for them by Charles Ricketts, bearing the epitaph 'United in blood, united in Christ,' though it was later damaged and lost. Their work has been the subject of scholarly study, focusing on their poetry, diaries, and their place within Victorian and Aesthetic literary traditions, including explorations of their same-sex relationship and religious journey.