Anna Maria Porter (1778–1832) was a British poet and novelist.

Life

The sister of

Jane Porter Jane Porter (3 December 1775 – 24 May 1850) was an English historical novelist, dramatist and literary figure. Her bestselling novels, ''Thaddeus of Warsaw'' (1803) and ''The Scottish Chiefs'' (1810) are seen as among the earliest historical ...

and

Robert Ker Porter Sir Robert Ker Porter, KCH (1777–1842) was a Scottish artist, author, diplomat and traveller. Known today for his accounts of his travels in Russia, Spain, and Persia, he was one of the earliest panorama painters in Britain, was appointed hi ...

, she was probably born on 17 December 1778 and was baptized in Salisbury on 25 December 1778. She spent her infancy in

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county * Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...

, England, the home town of her mother. Her father, William Porter (1735–1779), served as an army surgeon for 23 years and died before she was a year old. He is buried in St Oswald's Church, Durham. After the death of her father, her family settled in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, where the Porter children attended charity school and enjoyed the friendship of

Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'', ''Rob Roy (n ...

.McLean, Thomas (2007). "Nobody's Argument: Jane Porter and the Historical Novel". Journal for Early Modern Culture Studies. 7 (2): 88–103. Throughout her life, Anna Maria was known as Maria (pronounced ). Maria, being fair-haired, pretty, and outgoing, was nicknamed 'L'Allegra'. At the age of 14, Maria published her first book, ''Artless Tales''. She was in London by the 1790s, publishing verse in the ''Universal Magazine''. After ''Artless Tales'', she also wrote a short novel ''Walsh Colville'' published anonymously in 1797. Though her sister Jane was the more acclaimed and popular writer, Maria was the more prolific. ''The Hungarian Brothers'' (1807), a historical romance set against the French Revolutionary Wars, was a success and went into several editions. Maria also produced the humanitarian ''Tales of Pity on Fishing, Shooting and Hunting'' in 1814, and collaborated with her sister on collections of stories. She was one of the era's most published and respected fiction writers, with many of her works translated into French, but she also published poems and short stories and had an opera produced. Anna Maria Porter died on 21 June 1832 from a

typhus fever Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposure. ...

at the house of Mrs Colonel Booth, a friend of her brother Dr William Ogilvie Porter, Montpelier, near

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

. Maria was buried at the churchyard of St Paul in that city.

Selected works

*''Artless Tales'' vol. 1 (1793) *''Artless Tales'' vol. 2 (1795/6) *''Walsh Colville'' (1797) *''Octavia'' (1798) *''The Lake of Killarney'' (1804) *''A Sailor's Friendship, and a Soldier's Love'' (1805) *''The Hungarian Brothers'' (1807) *''Don Sebastian; or, The House of Braganza'' (1809) *''Ballad Romances, and Other Poems'' (1811) *''Tales of Pity on Fishing, Shooting, and Hunting'' (1814) *''The Recluse of Norway'' (1814) *''The Knight of St. John'' (1817) *''The Fast of St. Magdalen'' (1818) *''The Village of Mariendorpt'' (1821) *''Roche-Blanche; or, the Hunters of the Pyrenees'' (1821) *''Honor O'Hara'' (1826) *''Tales Round a Winter Hearth'' (1826; a collaboration with

) *''Coming Out; and The Field of Forty Footsteps'' (1828; a collaboration with Jane Porter) *''The Barony'' (1830)

References

Bibliography

External links

Porter Family Collection
at th
Kenneth Spencer Research Library
at the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...

* In Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1835: {{DEFAULTSORT:Porter, Anna Maria 1780 births 1832 deaths 19th-century English women writers 19th-century British writers English novelists English women novelists