An openly lesbian, feminist writer, Vernon Lee—a pseudonym of Violet Paget—is the most important female aesthetician to come out of nineteenth century England. Though she was widely known for her supernatural fictions, Lee hasn’t gained the recognition she so clearly deserves for her contributions in the fields of aesthetics, philosophy of empathy, and art criticism. An early follower of Walter Pater, her work is characterized by extreme attention to her own responses to artworks, and a level of psychological sensitivity rarely seen in any aesthetic writing. Today, she is largely overlooked in curriculums, her aesthetic works long out of print. David Zwirner Books is reintroducing Lee’s writing through the first-ever English publication of "Psychology of an Art Writer" (1903) along with selections from her groundbreaking "Gallery Diaries" (1901–1904), breathtaking accounts of Lee’s own experiences with the great paintings and sculptures she traveled to see. Ranging from deeply felt assessments of the way mood affects our ability to appreciate art, to detailed descriptions of some of the most powerful personal experiences with artworks, these writings provide profound insights into the fields of psychology and aesthetics. Her philosophical inquiries in The Psychology of an Art Writer leave no stone unturned, combining fine-grained ekphrases with high fancy and dense abstraction. The diaries, in turn, establish Lee as one of the most sensitive writers about art in any language. With a foreword by Berkeley classicist Dylan Kenny, which guides the reader through these writings and contextualizes these texts within Lee’s other work, this is the quintessential introduction to her astonishing and complex oeuvre.

Fans of gothic horror will relish this spine-tingling novella from "Vernon Lee," the nom de plume of British writer Violet Paget. The story follows an unusual love affair that is not exactly what it appears to be, and the twist ending will shock even the most astute reader.

In her last years she watched with dismay the emergence of fascism.".

Vernon Lee was the pen name of Violet Paget (1856–1935) – a prolific author best known for her supernatural fiction, her support of the Aesthetic Movement and her radical polemics. She was also an active letter writer whose correspondents include many well-known figures in fin de siècle intellectual circles across Europe. However, until now no attempt has been made to make these letters widely available in their complete form. This multi-volume scholarly edition presents a comprehensive selection of her English, French, Italian, and German correspondence — compiled from more than 30 archives worldwide — that reflect her wide variety of interests and occupations as a Woman of Letters and contributor to scholarship and political activism. Letters written in a language other than English have been expertly translated by scholars Sophie Geoffroy (from the French), Crystal Hall (from the Italian), and Christa Zorn (from the German). The edition focuses on those letters concerning the writing, ideas and aesthetics that influenced Lee’s articles, books and stories. Full transcriptions of some 500 letters, covering the years 1856-1935, are arranged in chronological order along with a newly written introduction that explains their context and identifies the recipients, friends and colleagues mentioned. Since scholarship on Lee’s critical and creative output is still in the beginning stages, these letters will serve a purpose to students and researchers in a number of academic fields. In this first volume, tracing the years 1856– 1884, the assembled letters cover the beginnings of her career, encompassing her first publication, visits to London and encounters with some of the important artistic figures of the time. As her career begins to blossom, the letters also reflect the expansion of her subject matter from cultural studies and art history to novels and aesthetic philosophy. Correspondents include Lee’s parents, Matilda and Henry Paget; her brother the poet Eugene Lee-Hamilton; English poet Mary Robinson; English authors Henrietta Jenkin and Linda Villari; and Italian writers Enrico Nencioni, Mario Pratesi, and Angelo De Gubernatis, among others.

This, the first collection of essays on the aesthete and intellectual Vernon Lee, offers a wide range of critical writings by scholars. Key works are examined including Euphorion, Hauntings: Fantastic Stories and Music and Its Lovers . New light is shed on Lee's relationships with contemporaries such as Lee-Hamilton, Pater and Wilde.

This 1913 volume explores the philosophical significance of the concepts of beauty and aesthetic preference.