Brewster, Anne M. H. (Anne Maria Hampton), 1819-1892

Anne Hampton Brewster (1818-1892) was an American novelist, journalist and foreign correspondent. She defied familial and social conventions by converting to Catholicism, suing her brother for her share of their mother’s estate, emigrating to Rome, supporting herself financially, and not marrying. Brewster preferred an independent life and supported herself as a writer. After 1868, she lived in Rome, Italy and wrote articles about Italian art, architecture, archaeology, political events and social gossip for numerous American newspapers. Brewster continued to write until her death, publishing three novels, seven pieces of nonfiction, fifty-two short stories, and four poems, along with her many newspaper articles.

Anne Hampton Brewster was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on October 29, 1818 to Maria Hampton and Francis Enoch Brewster. She had one older brother, Benjamin Harris Brewster, who became an accomplished civil lawyer and served as Attorney General of the United States during Chester A. Arthur’s presidency. Anne’s father abandoned the family in 1834, to live with his mistress and their two sons. He provided minimal support to Anne and her mother, forcing them to rely heavily on Benjamin. As a result, Anne found herself managing her brother’s household. Anne maintained an ambivalent relationship with her brother throughout her life.

In fact, according to author Denise M. Larrabee, Brewster was also ambivalent about her place in the world as a woman, finding it difficult to reconcile her desire for independence and her inclination to write with her own Victorian values. Over the course of her life, however, independence became her predominant desire, one she ultimately achieved through writing.

According to Larrabee, this ambivalence was displayed in her use of a pseudonym, Enna Duval, at the start of her writing career. Between 1845 and 1849, Brewster published at least twenty-two short stories. All her protagonists were women, and the stories shared a common theme: “Marriage brings happiness only if one marries for love, not financial security,” (Larrabee, p. 11). In 1849, she published her first book, a novella titled Spirit Sculpture, and her first poem, “New Year Meditation,” was published in Graham’s Magazine . After the publication of “New Year Meditation,” she was hired by Graham’s as an editor, a post she held until 1851.

It was after Anne’s father died in 1854 that she began her efforts for financial independence in earnest. Maria Hampton Brewster, her mother, died the year before, a tremendous personal loss for Anne. Maria left Anne her entire estate, per an understanding with her husband that stated Maria could dispose of her pre-marriage assets as she saw fit. However, Anne’s father reneged on the agreement, and left his entire estate, including Maria Hampton Brewster’s assets, to his two illegitimate sons. Anne’s brother, Benjamin, eventually convinced his half brothers to share the inheritance. Benjamin, however, retained control of Anne’s share. Completely dissatisfied with this arrangement, Anne took her brother to court. They battled in court for years; Anne eventually lost and Benjamin retained control of her inheritance.

Despite these legal issues, the 1850s proved a successful and exciting decade for Brewster. To begin with, between 1851 and 1857, she published four short stories. Then in 1857, leaving the matter of her lawsuit in the hands of a friend and lawyer, Charles F. Thomas, Brewster traveled to Italy and Switzerland. In Europe, she spent her time reading, writing, and studying French, German, and Italian. She returned to America in August of 1858, settled in Bridgeton, New Jersey, and supported herself by writing and teaching music and French. In 1859, Brewster wrote and published numerous short stories in Harper’s Magazine, The Atlantic Monthly, Peterson’s Magazine, Dwight’s Journal of Music and The Knickerbocker . She also published the novel Compensation . By this time, she had more confidence in her writing and abandoned use of her pseudonym. In 1866, she published her second novel, St. Martin’s Summer .

In 1868, Brewster returned to Italy, where she would stay for the rest of her life. To help support herself in Rome, Anne wrote weekly or monthly articles about Italian art, architecture, archaeology, political events and social gossip for American newspapers. Most notably, she wrote for the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin and Boston Daily Advertiser . Her newspaper articles gained attention, and she became prominent in artistic circles in Rome. She hosted a weekly salon where she entertained other famous writers and musicians of the day, and she developed close relationships with many of them.

Brewster was able to fully support herself in Italy, though she was not without financial worries. Income generated from her inheritance fluctuated from year to year, and in some years she needed to write more to compensate. Then, in the 1880s, she began to lose her newspaper engagements. Journalism in America was changing, and her contributions as well as her writing style were becoming antiquated. Her financial situation forced her to move to Sienna, Italy, where it was significantly less expensive to live. Though she missed Rome, she remained in affordable Sienna, still valuing her independence above all else. While there, she published one last article in the magazine Cosmopolitan, about her life in Sienna. She died in 1892.

Bibliography:

Larrabee, Denise M. Anne Hampton Brewster: 19th Century Author and “Social Outlaw” . Philadelphia: Library Company of Philadelphia, 1992.

For a more detailed description of Anne Hampton Brewster’s life and this collection, Larrabee's entire article is available through Google books at: http://tinyurl.com/23oycvg

From the guide to the Anne Hampton Brewster papers, Bulk, 1845-1892, 1777-1892, (Library Company of Philadelphia)

Anne Hampton Brewster (1818 or 19-1892) was the sister of Benjamin H. Brewster, Philadelphia lawyer and U.S. Attorney General from 1881-1885. She was an unusual woman for her time: she refused to marry, converted to Catholicism, lived alone rather than with a male relative, and sued her brother for complete control over her share of their father's estate. She spent much of her life in Rome and became a professional journalist, publishing articles and essays primarily in Philadelphia, New York and Boston newspapers.

James Edward Carpenter (1841-1901) served in the Union Army during the Civil War, achieving the rank of brevet major, and then became a well-respected business lawyer in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

From the guide to the Anne Hampton Brewster Correspondence, 1870-1892, (Special Collections Research Center, Syracuse University Libraries)