Anne Grant

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Anne Grant

Anne Grant (first name Anne MacVicar ; born February 21, 1755 in Glasgow , † November 7, 1838 in Edinburgh ) was a Scottish writer . She spent her childhood in the English colonies in North America , returned to Scotland with her father in 1768 and married a clergyman in 1779. After the death of her husband (1801) she began a literary career. She was best known as the author of poems (1803), letters illustrating life in the Scottish mountains ( Letters from the Mountains , 1806) and autobiographical memories of young people ( Memoirs of an American Lady , 1808).

Life

Youth in North America; Return to Scotland and marriage

Anne MacVicar was the daughter of Duncan MacVicar, who first drove in agriculture, but was called up as an officer in the 77th Infantry Regiment of the British Army in 1757 and ordered to North America. His wife and small child followed him there the next year. MacVicar was garrison near Albany at the time and won the respect of Dutch settlers. When he switched to the 55th Infantry Regiment, with which he undertook the catastrophic attack on Ticonderoga (July 1758), he left his wife and daughter in Albany. Anne, a lively and talented child who grew up a little wild, was well received by the Schuylers and other families who settled there. In particular, she met Madame Schuyler from Albany, widow of Colonel Philip Schuyler and aunt of the famous general of the same name. As a result, Anne was raised by Madame Schuyler as well as by her father, who had retired from military service in 1765 on half pay and settled on an estate assigned to him on the banks of the Hudson River in Vermont . During her stay in North America, Anne spent a pleasant time in the company of her benevolent Madame Schuyler, which she described in her Memoirs of an American Lady with very attractive colors and heartfelt feelings of gratitude.

In 1768 MacVicar returned to Scotland with his daughter and wife and ran a trading business in Glasgow. Soon after, the American Revolutionary War broke out. Mac Vicar lost the considerable property he had acquired in America. He was unable to regain it or receive any compensation for it, and he never went to the United States again. In 1773 he was appointed in command of Fort Augustus in Inverness-shire . It was here that his daughter, James Grant, the fort's chaplain and pastor of the nearby village of Laggan, met and married him in 1779. In Laggan she lived in very modest circumstances, but happily, and had twelve children with her husband. She adored the peasantry, studied Scottish folklore and learned Gaelic . She had a lively correspondence with her friends, which was characterized by a lively style and great empathy.

Writing career

James Grant died in 1801 after a brief illness and left no fortune. Anne Grant received only a small widow's pension from her deceased husband, but had to support her eight children who were still alive. She had been writing short poems in the artificial style customary at the time for a long time and now, on the advice of her friends, published her collection of poems under the title The Highlanders and other Poems (Edinburgh 1802). This publication not only brought her a considerable profit, because it had collected 3,000 subscribers, but was also so well received that a second edition (Edinburgh 1804) could quickly follow, although only a few smaller poems are excellent. The work testifies to the poet's rare command of the language and her versatility. The direction to which Anne Grant always clung to and to which she owes her fame is already revealed, namely the glorification of Scotland and the Scots.

This direction unfolds fully in Grants Letters from the Mountains; being the real Correspondence of a Lady between the years 1773 and 1803 (3 volumes, London 1806). The author had moved from Laggan to Woodend near Stirling in June 1803 and published these letters, representing a selection of her correspondence, to finance the equipment of her eldest son, who was to serve in the British East India Company . Mrs. Grant's descriptions of her life in Inverness-shire met the literary taste of the time. The work was an immediate success and also created valuable friendships for the author. It had five editions during the author's lifetime and was reprinted repeatedly after her death in the improved edition obtained by her son JP Grant (2 volumes, London 1845; 3 volumes, London 1853). The Letters from the Mountains are among the most dignified literary phenomena of their time, mainly because of their simplicity and naturalness, because of their independence from all artificial aids and because of the originality with which well-known objects are treated. They correspond exactly to the writer's circumstances and gradually show the attitudes and views of a passionate girl, a loving wife and mother, and a widow who devoted herself to her children. She depicts the life and customs of the Scottish mountain people with very vivid colors and, despite some errors and inaccuracies in the historical information, generally very true and exact. She also blames the English for knowing the people of Tahiti and Ceylon better than the people of Lochaber and Badenoch .

Anne Grant was amazed at the success of her Letters from the Mountains . Soon she left her Memoirs of an American Lady; with Sketches of Manners and Scenery in America, as they existed previous to the Revolution (2 volumes, London 1808; 2 volumes, New York 1809) follow. These are based on her childhood memories during her stay in the house of Madame Schuyler, who is to be understood as the American lady, but are processed with the prejudices and views of a later age. They offer a lively and faithful description of the customs that were widespread among the English inhabitants of the North American colonies in the 18th century and that had been given a peculiar touch by the gradually adopted habits of the Dutch settlers. The Indian tribes, which were still respectable at that time, are also described. The course of such a sober and regular, but dignified and contented family life as that of the Grants is all the more pleasant because it contrasts with the wildness of a settlement in the wilderness. The Memoirs were also very popular at the time of their publication, although they seem more artificial and less lively than the Letters .

Later life in Edinburgh

In 1810 Anne Grant moved from Stirling to Edinburgh . To increase her income, she let young women sub-tenants in her house. Gradually, in Edinburgh, a circle of famous writers and other distinguished men formed around them, among them Bishop Beilby Porteus , Sir Walter Farquhar , Sir William Grant, Sir Walter Scott and Francis Jeffrey . She also maintained ties with American friends and received many tourists from the United States .

During this time, let Anne Grant their supplementing Letters from the Mountains serving essays on the superstitions of the Highlanders of Scotland. To which are added Translations from Gaelic, and Letters connected with those formerly published (2 volumes, London 1811; new edition 2 volumes, London 1814) and her poem Eighteen Hundred and Thirteen (London 1814) appear. Her essays on Scots superstitions are characterized by attractive presentation, powerful expression, sagacity and imagination. The author shows a great enthusiasm for her compatriots. All of her writings exerted a benevolent and lasting influence on the Scots, not only drawing their attention to the beauty of their lands and the importance of their history, but also helping to educate them by developing healthy morals. This latter point is particularly emphasized in Walter Scott's petition to King George IV , on the basis of which Anne Grant received an annual pension of £ 100 from 1826 onwards.

Since Anne Grant also received several bequests from old friends and students, she was able to spend the last years of her life quite comfortably. Except for one son, all the children died before her. After a serious fall (1820), she was only able to move on crutches. Due to her strong constitution, however, she did not die of flu until November 7, 1838 at the age of 83 in Edinburgh.

literature

Web links

  • Judith C. Reveal: Grant, Anne , in: Women in World History

Remarks

  1. ↑ a b c d Philipp H. Külb: Grant (Anne) . In: General Encyclopedia of Sciences and Arts , 1st Section, Vol. 88 (1868), p. 1.
  2. ↑ Norman MacNoll: Grant, Anne , in: Dictionary of National Biography . (DNB), Vol 22 (1890), S. 376 f.
  3. ↑ a b c d e f g Norman MacNoll: Grant, Anne , in: Dictionary of National Biography (DNB), Vol. 22 (1890), p. 377.
  4. ^ A b c Philipp H. Külb: Grant (Anne) . In: General Encyclopedia of Sciences and Arts , 1st Section, Vol. 88 (1868), p. 2.
personal data
SURNAME Grant, Anne
ALTERNATIVE NAMES MacVicar, Anne (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Scottish writer
DATE OF BIRTH February 21, 1755
PLACE OF BIRTH Glasgow
DATE OF DEATH November 7, 1838
Place of death Edinburgh