The Corvey Novels Project at the University of Nebraska
— Studies in British Literature of the Romantic Period —
Anna Maria Porter
Miss Anna Maria Porter. The Hungarian Brothers
London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, and Orme, 1807; 2nd ed., 1808.
Biographical Sketch of Anna Maria Porter
Anna Maria Porter was born in the Bailey in Durham in 1780. She was one
of four children born to William and Mrs. Porter. At a very young age, Anna
Maria's father, a surgeon in the Irish army, died and her mother moved the
family to Edinburgh, Scotland in order for her children to receive an education.
Throughout her childhood, Anna Maria's mother moved her family between Ireland,
London, and Scotland to pursue educational opportunities. Lacking a father
figure in their lives the Porter family faced many economic and educational
hardships, but in valuing the importance of education Mrs. Potter gave her
children a future.
As a young child, family friend Walter Scott often told Anna Maria and
Jane stories of "witches and warlocks" which sparked their interest
in writing. At the age of thirteen Anna Maria began her writing career and
Jane soon followed in her footsteps. Anna Maria had a passion for writing;
she wrote many novels and poems throughout her lifetime. Some of her best
known works are "The Lakes of Killarney", "A Sailor's Friendship
and a Soldier's Love", "The Hungarian Brothers", "Don
Sebastian", and "Ballad Romances and other Poems". Although
Anna Maria began her career first, it is Jane who more readily remembered
centuries later. Jane and Anna Maria also collaborated on works such as
"Coming Out", "The Field of the Forty Footsteps", and
"Tales Round a Winter Hearth".
Anna Maria Porter was a prolific writer for her time but even so, she wasn't
as widely published as her siblings. Her eldest brother, William, became
a doctor while the other children thrived in the arts and literature. Jane
Porter was popular novelist most remembered for "Thaddeus of Warsaw"
and The Scottish Chiefs". Her brother, Sir Robert Ker Porter was an
artist who created battle pieces and even had the opportunity to paint for
the Russian czar.
In 1832, at the age of fifty-two, Anna Maria Porter died in London.
Sources:
http://online.northumbria.ac.uk/faculties/art/humanities/cns/m-porter1.html
http://www.historyswomen.com/thearts/Porters.html
http://hal.ucr.edu/~cathy/wwport.html
-- Prepared by Emily Kolb, University of Nebraska, April 2006
© Emily Kolb, 2006.