Anne (Anne Burrows) Gilchrist

Born in London on 25 February 1828, she was educated first at school in Highgate and then largely through her own wide reading in science, philosophy, and literature. She married the writer and biographer Alexander Gilchrist, and after his early death she continued to support and raise their family while pursuing her own literary work.

She wrote essays, reviews, and criticism, and is especially known for her response to Walt Whitman. Her essay on him helped introduce his work to British readers, and their later correspondence became an important part of her legacy. She also spent time in the United States and moved in lively literary circles connected with figures such as the Rossettis.

Anne Gilchrist died in 1885. She is often remembered through her connection to Whitman, but she stands on her own as an intelligent, independent Victorian writer whose letters and essays reveal energy, curiosity, and emotional honesty.