Anne Ingram, Viscountess Irvine facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
The Viscountess Irvine
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
Lady Anne Howard
c. 1696 |
| Died | 2 December 1764 (aged 67–68) |
| Spouses |
William Douglas
(m. 1737; |
| Relations | Arthur Capell, 1st Earl of Essex (grandfather) Lady Elizabeth Percy (grandmother) |
| Parents | Charles Howard, 3rd Earl of Carlisle Lady Anne Capel |
| Occupation | Poet |
Anne, Viscountess Irvine (born around 1696 – died December 2, 1764), was an important British court official. She was also a talented poet and a good friend of the famous writer Horace Walpole.
Contents
Anne, Viscountess Irvine: A Life Story
Early Life and Family
Anne was born around 1696 and grew up in Yorkshire, England. Her father was Charles Howard, 3rd Earl of Carlisle. Her mother was Anne Capel.
Anne's grandparents on her mother's side were Arthur Capell, 1st Earl of Essex and Lady Elizabeth Percy. Anne's parents separated when she was young, around 1712. Anne stayed close to her father, and some of her letters to him still exist today. In 1732, she wrote a poem called "Castle Howard" to honor her father.
A Poet's Voice: Defending Women
One of Anne's most famous poems is "An Epistle to Mr. Pope, Occasioned by his Characters of Women." She wrote this poem as a response to Alexander Pope’s writings about women. Pope often wrote poems that described women in a certain way.
Anne's poem argued against Pope's ideas about how men and women are different. She cleverly changed the rhyming style Pope used to show what both sexes have in common: a desire for power. Many lines in her poem are slightly changed from Pope's original words or quoted directly but used in a new way. For example, she used the line "For love of power is still the love of fame."
Through her poetry, Anne defended women. She spoke out against common ideas that women were always trying to trick people or were not as good as men.
Personal Life and Travels
Around December 1717, Lady Anne married Rich Ingram, 5th Viscount of Irvine. Lord Irvine worked as the Governor of Kingston-upon-Hull from 1715 until he died in 1721. He passed away from smallpox just four years after they were married.
Anne and her first husband did not have any children. After his death, she traveled by herself to the Netherlands and France in 1730. In 1736, she became an attendant to the Princess of Wales, Augusta of Saxe-Gotha. Princess Augusta was the wife of Frederick, Prince of Wales, and later became the mother of King George III.
Anne remarried in 1737, sixteen years after her first husband died. She married Colonel William Douglas of Kirkness, who was a Member of Parliament for Kinross-shire. Her family did not approve of this marriage. Colonel Douglas died on August 5, 1747.
Anne, Viscountess Irvine, passed away on December 2, 1764. She is buried near her second husband in Kew, England.
