Anne Killigrew was born in London 1660 – 1685
·She was a British poet and painter who was born in London.
·She was the daughter of Judith and Henry Killigrew. (Both were royalist supporters of the Stuart kings and connected by marriage to an illegitimate branch of the royal family.)
·Her father was a clergyman with a position at Westminster Abbey which is a royal church that is located in the centre of London.
·At some point, when Killigrew had completed her childhood education, her father secured a position for her as maid of honor in the household of Mary of Modena , second wife of the duke of York (later King James II). There she joined a circle of women who were to become known for their intellects and accomplishments. Catharine Sedley , Sarah Jennings (Churchill) , and Anne Kingsmill (Finch) were all members of this circle and women who would become influential in court life in the years to follow.
·Exposed from an early age to life at court, she was also taken to the theater, and her uncles even wrote plays. She studied Greek mythology, philosophy, and the Bible. She showed her knowledge of this stuff through her poems.
·Killigrew was the subject of an ode by the poet John Dryden.
·The poem was called To The Pious Memory of the Accomplish’d Young Lady Mrs. Anne Killigrew.
·Dryden uses his ode to praise Anne Killigrew, references being made to her beauty, virtue, and talent. Dryden was one of Anne’s admirers and praised her natural talents as a write, comparing her to Sapho, a Greek writer commonly regarded as one of the greatest lyric poets in antiquity.
·She died of smallpox at the age of 25.
·Published after her death, her poetry shows her familiarity with court life and society. The poems were published by her father.
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