Robert Browning

Robert Browning (1812-1889) was an English poet whose work was characterized by the accomplished use of dramatic monologue and an interest in obscure literary and historical figures. His works included the poems The Pied Piper of Hamelin (1842), and Home Thoughts from Abroad (1845). He was married to Elizabeth Barrett Browning.
When he was a teenager, Browning shocked his evangelical mother when he declared himself like his hero Shelley, an atheist. In later life he looked back on this as a passing phase and he became a knowledgeable Bible reader but always denied any Christian faith.