Rosamund Marriott Watson

Who was Rosamund Marriott Watson?

Rosamund Marriott Watson was a Victorian poet and critic who wrote under the pseudonym of Graham R. Tomson. Her poems, which presaged modernism, are informed by aestheticism and occasionally avant-garde sensibilities. Watson's personal life was fraught with scandal, she left first husband George Armytage and wed the artist Arthur Graham Tomson. She later left him for H.B. Marriott Watson, a journalist, in both of these early marriages she lost custody of her children. She remained with Watson for the reminder of her life, though they were never officially married, causing much speculation as to the existence of a possible illicit lesbian affair. Several of her poems were published in the Yellow Book. Her volumes of poetry included Tares, A Summer Night and After Sunset. A novel, An Island Rose, was published in 1900. Watson also wrote prolifically on gardening, and her essays on the subject were published in the Heart of a Garden. She wrote several columns on interior design and fashion, some of which were collected in the Art of the House before forsaking her writing career for a brief bout with religious fanaticism which resulted in her death at the age of 51. Her collected poems were published in 1912 with an introduction by H.B. Marriott Watson. A biography of Watson, entitled Graham R., was published in 2005.