THE life and work of one of England's most romantic poets will be celebrated in a new show to mark the 200th anniversary of her birth.

Elizabeth Barrett Browning: Victorian Poet and Enigma was written by David Robertson, of West Malvern, and will be premiered on Saturday - a celebration in words, music and images of the poet who grew up at Hope End, between Colwall and Ledbury.

The show will be performed at the John Moore Theatre, King's School, Worcester - two days before her birthday - at 7.30pm.

Elizabeth Barrett Browning was one of the most popular poets of her era, whose sonnet How Do I Love Thee? Let Me Count The Ways, which she wrote in secret for her husband Robert Browning, is one of the most poignant in the language.

When Wordsworth died in 1850, many though she would become Poet Laureate, although the job eventually went to Tennyson.

Today, she and Browning are probably best known for their elopement and secret marriage, dramatised in film The Barretts of Wimpole Street. But she grew up at her father's Moorish folly at Hope End, spent three years in a clinic in Gloucester, knew Hereford, Malvern and Worcester and often visited Eastnor Castle.

"We tend to think of her as a sickly child and semi-invalid adult who, for much of her life, rarely left her bedroom," said David.

"But while she lived near Ledbury, she loved walking and riding, and even had her own pony."

The life and legacy of this extraordinary woman will be celebrated in an evening of readings, projected images and settings of her work by composers including Elgar and William Lloyd Webber, father of Andrew and Julian. Tickets are available on 01905 721794.

There will also be a poetry evening at Ledbury Library. The building that houses the library is called The Elizabeth Barrett Browning Institute, in her honour.

The event, on Monday, will run from 5.30pm to 6.30pm and free tickets are available now from the library.