Newly discovered poems by a little-known Kendal poet, Isabella Lickbarrow, have been received with national acclaim thanks to a new edition of her work, writes Alan Tunningley.

Ambleside resident Constance Parrish spent nearly five years researching the Quaker poet's life and work so that her creative talent would finally gain recognition after nearly two centuries of neglect.

Constance spent nearly five years researching and editing the new collection as well as writing the first biographical study of Isabella, who was a contemporary of William Wordsworth.

The collection has been praised by The Guardian's literary critic Duncan Wu, who said: "Even if she does not loom over the Romantic period like her near-contemporary and near-neighbour of Grasmere, her voice is every bit as passionate and original as his. She lived her life in penury but her legacy is priceless and is now for the first time made available in Parrish's new paperback edition. She reveals a poetic vision as subtle and intense as that of her better-known male contemporaries."

Until recently, mystery surrounded Isabella, with not even the dates of her birth and death known. No portraits or images of her have survived and her two previously published works, Poetical Effusions and Lament on the Death of HRH Prince Caroline and Alfred - A Vision, were both out of print for 180 years until a facsimile reprint of Poetical Effusions appeared in 1994.

Constance, a clergyman's widow who lives at Ambleside, set about searching through local archives and, in particular, checking editions of local newspapers where Isabella's work was first published, including the Kendal Mercury and Westmorland Advertiser.

The result was the discovery of 41 previously forgotten poems by Isabella, all of which are included in the new book, making it the only definitive edition of her poetry published.

Born on November 5, 1784, to James and Mary Lickbarrow, of Market Place, Kendal, Isabella was the eldest of four daughters. Her mother died when Isabella was young and her father when she was 20, leaving her to live a life of constant labour as she struggled to provide for herself and her younger sisters.

But, despite the difficulties, she still continued to be driven by her talent and desire to write poetry, encouraged by the editor of the Westmorland Advertiser, the newspaper that helped her publish her first book.

Isabella died, of a wasting disease, possibly tuberculosis, on February 10, 1847. In one of her poems, To An Opening Rose, she wrote: I, like the wild flowers of the mountains, That unknown unheeded die Like them shall leave a name, unhonoured, And like them forgotten lie.

Constance said: "The words of this poem express what I feel about Isabella extremely well. They show that she longed to be recognised for her poetry, but sadly in her lifetime she never was. I'm just pleased that with this book I have helped her gain the recognition she so thoroughly deserves."

l Isabella Lickbarrow Collected Poems, by Constance Parrish. Published by The Wordsworth Trust, Dove Cottage, Grasmere, August 2004. Price: £10. ISBN: 1 870787 92 7