Constance Naden

Constance Caroline Woodhill Naden (24 January 1858 – 23 December 1889) was an English writer, poet and philosopher. She studied, wrote and lectured on philosophy and science, alongside publishing two volumes of poetry. Several collected works were published following her death at the young age of 31. In her honour, Robert Lewins established the Constance Naden Medal and had a bust of her installed at Mason Science College (now the University of Birmingham). William Ewart Gladstone considered her one of the nineteenth century's foremost female poets. She developed a philosophy called Hylo-Idealism in collaboration with Robert Lewins, MD, the key principle of which is that "Man is the maker of his own Cosmos, and that all his perceptions... have a merely subjective existence, bounded by the limits moulded by the character and conditions of his sentient being." Naden was interested in Herbert Spencer's concept of a unifying philosophy explaining the universe through the principles of evolution. Her first volume of poetry, Songs and Sonnets of Springtime, was published in 1881. After inheriting a fortune, she traveled and became involved in various societies and causes, including women's suffrage. She died in 1889 following surgery, and posthumous publications cemented her legacy. Her work has received renewed attention for its exploration of the interplay between literature and science, and her proto-feminist ideas.