Anna Maria Lenngren (1754–1817)

Anna Maria Lenngren, née Malmstedt, was the eldest daughter of Magnus Brynolfsson Malmstedt, a poet and professor of Latin at Uppsala University. He gave Anna Maria an excellent education, and encouraged her to read and write. She began to publish her poetry at age 18. In 1780, she married Carl Lenngren, co-founder and editor of the influential newspaper Stockholms Posten. She contributed to the paper anonymously. Anna Maria Lenngren became a noted translator of French and Latin works. She wrote epigrams, humorous, contemplative, and moral poems, as well as elegant satires and festive songs. Her collected poems were published by her husband after her death as Skaldeförsök (Attempts of Poetry, 1819). Her work and style were much appreciated during her lifetime, and have remained classics in Scandinavian literature. She was not a formal member of the Royal Swedish Academy, but was referred to as its "invisible member."