For decades, not much has been documented about the author, one of Victorian literature's most unique voices, formerly hailed as a genius by Oscar Wilde.
But now, audiences will be able to familiarize themselves with a author whose groundbreaking work delved into female autonomy, Jewish heritage, and queer love.
“It’s rare nowadays for a complete collection of a 19th-century author’s papers to come to light,” stated a chief librarian. “Our goal was to take the opportunity to make her archive open in the place where she studied and where she visited even in the final days of her life.”
A Trailblazing Existence
Amy Levy entered the world in 1861 into a Jewish middle-class family in London and began studies at Newnham College in 1879, becoming only the next Jewish woman among Cambridge’s initial cohort of women scholars.
She produced three poetry collections, three novels – featuring Reuben Sachs and The Romance of a Shop – a wealth of essays and a series of articles for the Jewish Chronicle. When she died by suicide in 1889, at the age of 27, she was acknowledged by her fellow writers as an extraordinary gift, with Wilde composing a tribute and commending the “honesty, directness, and melancholy” of her work.
A Complex Identity
A leading scholar working on a biographical study about Levy expressed that she was convinced the archival materials would not only revolutionize academic study but also be of appeal to a broader audience.
“I read Amy’s poetry years ago and they have haunted me ever since,” the professor said. “Not only was she a fine and evocative writer, but she was also so complicated. She embraced her Jewish identity, but she was also an atheist. She seemed to have good relationships with men, but she was a woman who loved women.”
The professor explained that Levy had built a social network at Newnham and also in her adult life, especially through Vernon Lee “who was highly sociable to a wide circle including Wilde. Levy joined Lee’s circle, in fact she became enamored with her, a love that regrettably was never returned.
“When Wilde obtained a short manuscript from Levy for his magazine the Woman’s World, he was bowled over by the story and called Levy a prodigious talent.”
A Timeless Influence
Researchers believe Levy’s work resonates strongly to contemporary conversations around gender equality, homosexual narratives and Jewish identity and say she foreshadowed debate that would come long after her death.
“She was forward-thinking, which was perhaps one of the reasons she struggled to find her role,” the expert said. “She faced challenges with queer identity and how she belonged in a heteronormative society. Matrimony was not an option for her, but neither was having a vocation like a school teacher, which she left behind to become a writer full-time.
“She has long been interesting to people who study Jewish females and their history. And today, when we have in the wake of the international epidemic so many the younger generation battling despair, nervousness, psychological distress, even suicidality, learning about her might be of value and comfort to a broader audience too,” the expert said.
The Final Year
The archive includes Levy’s 1889 personal diary, in which gradually dwindling entries document the final months before her death from asphyxiation. A ultimate, touching entry, written the day before she died, said: “Alone at home all day.” But the expert said Levy in many ways had “a vibrant, complete, thrilling existence” too.
“She could be amusing at times, which is evident in her writings. She did suffer from a triple burden of difficulties, including neuralgia. She was growing increasingly deaf, which results in isolation from others and isolation. And she also suffered from melancholia.
“Though she failed to discover happiness, it was always something she demanded: the freedom to experience bliss, even overjoyed.”
