First published in 1837, Mrs. Jameson's The Romance of Biography gathers the stories of women whose beauty, wit, and devotion made them immortal in verse — from the ladies sung by the troubadours to Petrarch's Laura, Dante's Beatrice, and beyond. Writing with warmth and scholarly care, Jameson separates legend from history while honoring the poetry that kept these names alive, offering a fascinating window into how the Romantic age imagined love, fame, and womanhood. This edition presents the complete, unabridged text of the third edition, faithfully reproduced in both volumes, together with a new introduction and reader's notes that illuminate the historical figures, the poets who celebrated them, and the remarkable critic who told their stories. Ideal for lovers of literary history, biography, and women's writing, this is a book to read slowly and return to often. Part of The Founding Texts Library.