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Anna Laetitia BarbauldEnglish poet, essayist and children's writer
Date of Birth: 20.06.1743
Country:  Great Britain |
Content:
- Anna Laetitia Barbauld: A Literary Luminary
- Warrington and Meeting Jean-Paul Marat
- Literary Beginnings
- Children's Literature
Anna Laetitia Barbauld: A Literary Luminary
Early Life and EducationAnna Laetitia Aikin was born in Kibworth, Leicestershire, England, into a family of Anglican ministers. From a young age, she displayed an extraordinary thirst for knowledge, studying Latin, Greek, French, Italian, and other subjects uncommon for women of her time.
Warrington and Meeting Jean-Paul Marat
In 1758, the Aikin family relocated to Warrington, where Anna's father taught at the local academy. It was here that she encountered the revolutionary Jean-Paul Marat, who reportedly contemplated British citizenship in order to marry her.
Literary Beginnings
Barbauld's first published work, a collection of poems, appeared in 1773 under the title "Poems." In 1774, she married Rochemont Barbauld, a descendant of French Huguenots. Following their marriage, they moved to Suffolk, where she revised and published psalms accompanied by her influential essay "Thoughts on the Devotional Taste, on Sects and on Establishments."
Children's Literature
In 1778-1779, Barbauld penned the children's book "Lessons for Children." This was followed by "Hymns in Prose for Children" in 1781. Her "Hymns" garnered widespread acclaim and were translated into several European languages in the 19th century.
