In 1859, the fourth edition of Aurora Leigh, written by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, was published in the city of London, United Kingdom.  This was the final edition that was publically published before Browning passed away in 1861 in Florence, Italy.  While Browning's final edition of this poem was published here, London is also the meeting-place of Browning and famous literary figures such as William Wordsworth and Mary Russell Mitford through John Kenyon.  Mitford would later become Browning's close friend and confidant, discussing her works in enitrety, including Aurora Leigh.  This relationship with another female literary figure in society is relevant to this poem because it discusses women's rights through the female characters, Aurora and Marian. In Mitford, Browning found a female friend whose opinion she could seek about her works that included themes of gender equality and oppression.