Andrew Kuchling<p>I'm reading a biography of Victorian-era British composer Ethel Smyth (QUARTET: HOW FOUR WOMEN CHANGED THE MUSICAL WORLD, by Leah Broad). Smyth's early years could be turned into a historical comedy. For example:</p><p>"The closest she came to marriage was a whirlwind romance with William Wilde, Oscar Wilde's shorter-haired, bearded brother, whom she met on a trip to Ireland. ... On the ship back to England the two sat under the stars wrapped up in a blanket, debating philosophers' relative merits, shivering slightly as they tasted the salt lingering on their lips, carried by the cold sea air. The romantic mood was broken only briefly by a seasick Ethel vomiting on William. But he was undeterred, and by the end of the voyage the two were engaged, the result of an impulsive proposal made atop a collapsing biscuit tin."</p><p><a href="https://dmv.community/tags/EthelSmyth" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>EthelSmyth</span></a> <a href="https://dmv.community/tags/LeahBroad" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>LeahBroad</span></a> <a href="https://dmv.community/tags/classical" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>classical</span></a> <a href="https://dmv.community/tags/music" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>music</span></a> <a href="https://dmv.community/tags/WilliamWilde" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>WilliamWilde</span></a> <a href="https://dmv.community/tags/OscarWilde" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>OscarWilde</span></a></p>