The Poetry of Muriel Stuart

Muriel Stuart Irwin was born in London in 1885 to a Scottish barrister father who ensured a good private education for his daughter which was completed at art school before going on to work in publishing. She started writing poetry early in life, and whilst some was based on World War I most of her work is focused on the burden women of that era faced with strict social conventions, great inequality and very limited rights. Muriel did marry the two subjects together in a number of poems on war widows and their spinsterhood but, for her, sexual politics were her primary focus. Her innovative use of dialogue and half rhymes brought forward many admirers including Thomas Hardy who described her work as ‘superlatively good’ and Hugh MacDiarmid who named her the best woman poet of the Scottish Renaissance - she was claimed as Scottish by her ancestry even though she was obviously born and bred in England. Her first marriage was brief but the second to publisher Alfred William Board resulted in the birth of a son and a daughter which it is said prompted her to abandon writing poetry and spend more time gardening, although this passion did result in a bestselling gardening book. Muriel Stuart died on December 18th, 1967. Her courage, strength and independence is clearly demonstrated in her poetry which survives well today given its quality and contemporary flavour.