‘A flower of an exile’: international political networks in Anna Birkbeck’s Album

Anna Birkbeck’s album contains a rousing poem about the Polish independence cause by Polish author, translator, and exile Stanisław Egbert Koźmian. By contextualizing this seemingly unusual political entry, inter-album connections are revealed, offering insights into networks of European political exiles and insurrectionists in London in the 1820s and 1830s. This analysis shows how the medium of the album could use feminine tropes to carry political meanings, acting as a repository of family values and reflecting the causes supported by the Birkbecks and their circles.