The Life and Poems of Anne Hunter Haydn's Tuneful Voice

Abstract

Anne Home Hunter (1741–1821) was one of the most successful song writers of the second half of the eighteenth century, most famously as the poet who wrote the lyrics of many of Haydn's songs. However, her work, which included many more serious, lyrical and romantic poems, has been largely forgotten. This book contains over 200 poems, some published in Hunter's lifetime under her married name ‘Mrs John Hunter’, some attributed only to ‘a Lady’, and most importantly, many transcribed from her manuscripts, housed in various archives and in a private collection, which are now collected for the first time. Hitherto Anne Hunter has been known almost entirely through her Poems published in 1802. In her Introduction the author argues that Hunter saw this book as a definitive representation of her poetry. Besides Hunter's consummately skilful lyrics and songs, Poems contains serious political odes and reflective poems. The unpublished material amplifies and extends the work of 1802. The Introduction is followed by a long biographical essay. The daughter of Robert Home, an impoverished Scottish Army surgeon, Anne Hunter spent her adult life in London, where she married the famous anatomist John Hunter, with whom she lived in great style, latterly as a bluestocking hostess, until his death in 1793. The book includes many new details of her long life, including her friendships with Angelica Kaufman (who painted her portrait) and with the bluestocking Elizabeth Carter. The account of Anne's life as a widow describes her relationships with her family and friends.