The History of Literature 767 A Black Woman in the Romantic Archive (with Mathelinda Nabugodi) | My Last Book with Richard Kopley
Jan 15, 2026
Mathelinda Nabugodi, a Lecturer at University College London and author of The Trembling Hand, explores fascinating artifacts from the Romantic era, revealing how slavery influenced renowned poets. She discusses the significance of personal objects in archives and their ties to global capitalism. Richard Copley, a biographer of Edgar Allan Poe, shares his choice for the last book he would read—William Wordsworth's poetry—highlighting themes of childhood and nature that resonate deeply with him. Dive into a rich conversation about literature's connections to history and personal experience!
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Small Traces Reveal Hidden Presences
- Mathelinda Nabugodi used marginal archival traces to recover the presence of unnamed Black people in Romantic lives.
- Small details like a servant delivering Byron's notes can reframe canonical narratives about poets.
Blood Money Underwrites Romantic Leisure
- Nabugodi links Romantic leisure to funding from the transatlantic slave economy via patrons and family.
- Material culture like sugar, coffee, and mahogany shows how slavery infiltrated poets' ordinary lives.
Objects Anchor Poets To Their World
- Nabugodi foregrounds personal objects in archives to situate poets within global capitalism.
- Objects like Shelley's rattle or traveling cutlery connect literary work to material and political worlds.
