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For decades, not much has been documented about this Victorian writer, one of Victorian literature's most unique voices, who was once hailed as a genius by Oscar Wilde.

However, the public will get the chance to familiarize themselves with a author whose innovative work delved into the emancipation of women, the Jewish experience, and queer love.

“It is uncommon nowadays for a organized set of a 19th-century author’s papers to come to light,” stated a chief librarian. “We were determined to take the opportunity to make her archive available in the place where she was educated and where she returned to even in the closing period of her life.”

An Illustrious Life

Levy was born in 1861 into a middle-class Jewish family in London and enrolled at Newnham College in 1879, rising to become the second Jewish female student among Cambridge’s pioneering group of female undergraduates.

She wrote three books of verse, three novels – featuring Reuben Sachs and The Romance of a Shop – many articles and a collection of writings for the Jewish Chronicle. When she died by suicide in 1889, aged 27, she was regarded by her fellow writers as an remarkable ability, with the playwright composing a tribute and commending the “authenticity, candor, and sadness” of her work.

A Layered Character

A noted academic developing a book project about Levy expressed that she was convinced the documents would not only revolutionize literary criticism but also be of fascination to a wider public.

“I read Amy’s poetry long ago and they have stayed with me ever since,” the researcher said. “Not only was she a accomplished and moving writer, but she was also so complicated. She affirmed her Jewish roots, but she was also an agnostic. She seemed to get along very well with men, but she was a queer woman.”

The scholar explained that Levy had established a social network at Newnham and also in her adult life, especially through the writer Vernon Lee “who was highly sociable to a wide circle including Wilde. Levy became part of Lee’s circle, in fact she developed feelings for her, a love that unfortunately was never returned.

“When Wilde obtained a one-page manuscript from Levy for his magazine the Woman’s World, he was deeply impressed by the story and called Levy a prodigious talent.”

A Timeless Influence

Researchers believe Levy’s work speaks directly to modern discussions around women's rights, queer writing and Jewish culture and say she predated debate that would come years after her death.

“She was progressive, which was perhaps one of the reasons she failed to secure her niche,” the scholar said. “She faced challenges with her homosexuality and how she existed within a traditional society. Marriage was not an option for her, but neither was having a career like a instructor, which she gave up to become a professional writer.

“She has long been of interest to people who study women of Jewish heritage and their history. And today, when we have in the wake of the worldwide health crisis so many the younger generation struggling with despair, anxiety, psychological distress, even suicidal thoughts, studying her life might be of value and comfort to a wider public too,” the scholar said.

The Last Months

The collection includes Levy’s 1889 datebook, in which gradually dwindling entries document the closing period before her death from carbon monoxide poisoning. A final, moving entry, written the day before she died, said: “Alone at home all day.” But the scholar said Levy in many ways had “a vibrant, complete, thrilling existence” too.

“She could be witty at times, which can be seen in her writings. She did endure a trifecta of challenges, including facial pain. She was becoming more and more hearing-impaired, which causes withdrawal from society and isolation. And she also battled melancholia.

“Though she failed to discover happiness, it was always something she demanded: the entitlement to joy, even elated.”