Editing Robert Browning (section)

===Major works===
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 |title=[[s:How It Strikes a Contemporary|How It Strikes a Contemporary]] (ll. 21–33)
 |quote=<poem>He stood and watched the cobbler at his trade,
The man who slices lemons into drink,
The coffee-roaster's [[brazier]], and the boys
That volunteer to help him turn its winch.
He glanced o'er books on stalls with half an eye,
And fly-leaf ballads on the vendor's string,
And broad-edge bold-print posters by the wall.
He took such cognizance of men and things,
If any beat a horse, you felt he saw;
If any cursed a woman, he took note;
Yet stared at nobody—you stared at him,
And found, less to your pleasure than surprise,
He seemed to know you and expect as much.
</poem>
 |source=''Men and Women'' (1855)
}}
In Florence, probably from early in 1853, Browning worked on the poems that eventually composed his two-volume ''[[Men and Women (poetry collection)|Men and Women]]'', for which he is now well known,<ref name="Karlin10"/> although in 1855, when they were published, they made relatively little impact.

In 1861, Elizabeth died in Florence. Among those whom he found consoling in that period{{vague|reason = the one ending in '61, or the one beginning then, or a *completely*undelimited one that surrounded her death?|date=August 2019}} was the novelist and poet [[Isa Blagden]], with whom he and his wife had had a voluminous correspondence.<ref>"Isa Blagden", in: ''The Brownings' Correspondence''. [http://www.browningscorrespondence.com/biographical-sketches/?id=123. Retrieved 13 May 2015.]</ref> The following year Browning returned to London, taking Pen with him, who by then was 12 years old. They made their home in 17 [[Warwick Crescent]], [[Maida Vale]]. It was only when he became part of the London literary scene—albeit while paying frequent visits to Italy (though never again to Florence)—that his reputation started to take off.<ref name="Karlin10"/>

In 1868, after five years' work, he completed and published the long [[Blank verse|blank-verse]] poem ''[[The Ring and the Book]]''. Based on a convoluted murder-case from 1690s Rome, the poem is composed of 12 books: essentially 10 lengthy dramatic monologues narrated by various characters in the story, showing their individual perspectives on events, bookended by an introduction and conclusion by Browning himself. Long even by Browning's standards (over twenty-thousand lines), ''The Ring and the Book'' was his most ambitious project and is arguably his greatest work; it has been called a ''tour de force'' of dramatic poetry.<ref name="Karlin11"/> Published in four parts from November 1868 to February 1869, the poem was a success both commercially and critically, and finally brought Browning the renown he had sought for nearly 40 years.<ref name="Karlin11">Browning, Robert. Ed. Karlin, Daniel (2004) ''Selected Poems'' Penguin p. 11</ref> The Robert Browning Society was formed in 1881 and his work was recognised as belonging within the British literary canon.<ref name="Karlin11"/>