Anne Plumptre (1760–1818)

Anne (or Anna) Plumptre was the daughter of Dr. Robert Plumptre, who became president of Queens' College, Cambridge University. Her sister Arabella Plumptre (1795-1812) and her brother James Plumptre (1770-1832) also became writers. Anne was well educated and learned several foreign languages, becoming particularly fluent in French and German. She began writing articles for periodicals. Her first published book, a novel entitled Antoinette, appeared anonymously, but she was later acknowledged as the author in a second edition. She wrote more fiction as well as travel writing and political essays. She was one of the first to make German plays widely known in London. From 1802 to 1805, she lived in France, and published her experiences in 1810 in The Narrative of a Three Years Residence in France. In 1814 to 1815, she visited Ireland, and wrote The Narrative of a Residence in Ireland, published in 1817. Anne Plumptre was active in the Enfield circle, a group of writers and intellectuals. She was well-known as a supporter of the French Revolution and later of the emperor Napoleon.