The Kingdom of Love

Ella Wheeler Wilcox, née Ella Wheeler, (born Nov. 5, 1850, Johnstown Center, Rock county, Wis., U.S.—died Oct. 30, 1919, Short Beach, Conn.), American poet and journalist who is perhaps best remembered for verse tinged with an eroticism that, while rather oblique, was still unconventional for her time.

Ella Wheeler from an early age was an avid reader of popular literature, especially the novels of E.D.E.N. Southworth, Mary Jane Holmes, and Ouida. Her first published work, some sketches subm...