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Anne Wright (author)

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Anne Wright
Portrait of Anne Wright
Born1793
Died18 January 1861
SpouseJohn Wright

Anne Wright (1793 – 18 January 1861) was a British author, most notably of children's books about natural sciences. Her most well-known work was originally published as a series of letters and later compiled into one volume, titled The Observing Eye, or Letters to Children on the Three Lowest Divisions of Animal Life (1851).

Biography

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Personal life

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Anne Wright was born in 1793 in Middlesex.[1] In 1816 she married John Wright, whose uncle is known for launching the first sea-going steamboat.[2] Most of her writing was complete from a farm in Buxton, Norfolk, where she was a very active participant in the community.[3] Wright had two children, Jonathon and Fredrick.[1] She died on 18 January 1861, in Blakeney, Norfolk.[4]

Writing

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Title page of The Observing Eye

Anne Wright's most well-known work during her time was The Observing Eye. It received great critical acclaim, a geologist, Hugh Miller, saying "[The Observing Eye] is quite a model of the way in which the study of living nature ought to be brought before the minds of children."[3] In fact, this work was chosen by Queen Victoria to be in the collection that was to be read by the royal children.[3] Wright herself took an interest in geology, sometimes gathering and studying different specimens.[3] Several of her works involved the geology and other natural sciences:

  • Our World: Its Rocks and Fossils (1859)
  • The Globe Prepared for Man: A Guide to Geology (1853)
  • What is a Bird? The Forms of Birds – Their Instincts – and Use in Creation Considered (1857)

Community involvement

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Wright was an active participant in her neighborhood. She was a figure often present at the local school, and "Mrs. Wright's Stories" drew a lot of interest from the children.[3] In 1853, Wright's husband John established a reformatory in their own neighborhood; Anne Wright was very enthusiastic about helping reform the inmates through instruction.[3]

Selected works

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  • Listen and Learn: A Short Narrative of a Three Days' Ramble
  • The Observing Eye, or Letters to Children on the Three Lowest Divisions of Animal Life (1851)
  • Passover Feasts and Scripture Sacrifices (1852)
  • The Globe Prepared for Man: A Guide to Geology (1853)
  • What is a Bird? The Forms of Birds – Their Instincts – and Use in Creation Considered (1857)
  • Our World: Its Rocks and Fossils (1859)

References

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  1. ^ a b Ancestry.com. 1861 England Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005.
  2. ^ Sewell, Mary; Sewell (Mary), Mrs (1886). Poems and Ballads. Jarrold.
  3. ^ a b c d e f E. H. A Brief Memorial of Mrs. Wright, late of Buxton, Norfolk. Anne Wright, Jarrold and Sons, London, 1861. UIN: BLL01017098189
  4. ^ Ancestry.com. England, Select Deaths and Burials, 1538-1991 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014.