Linking Freshwater to Bloomsbury- Anne Thackeray Ritchie

Dearest Emily,

A sixteen year old girl came to visit the Isle of Wight in 1853. She was the daughter of William Makepeace Thackeray, the Author of many Victorian novels including 'Vanity Fair'. Mr Makepeace like Julia, had been born in India, and came to England, his family suffering financial losses- which appeared to drive him to write as much as possible- as family poverty had also driven Dickens.
Anne Thackeray spent most of her childhood in Paris, living with her Grandparents ( her Mother had been suicidal and when she tried to drown Anny's sister Minny in the bath, she was institutionalised. )
Papa Thackeray's fortunes rose, and the girls were once more able to live with him.

Anny remarked on her first visit...

And just over a decade later, in January 1864, following their Father's untimely death, she and her sister were brought down into the protective bosom of the Freshwater Circle under Julia Margaret Cameron and Tennyson's wings.
They stayed a few months, though were unlikely to have been around when Dodgson visited that year. They would probably have been aware of each other even if they did not actually meet- I have not come across any mention of CLD or his works in Anny's correspondences.
Anny and Minny were to become a part of the truth of her casual teenage remark in 1853, though quite how big an influence comes much later in her life and the way her descendents intertwined and inspired each other.
In the period of our focus, Anny was becoming a writer in her own right and she published "The End of a Long Day's Work," in the Cornhill Magazine in August of this year.
Anny was very fond of her 'adopted family' at Freshwater and spoke of Julia's kindness towards her. She also worshipped Tennyson, and even wrote a novel very scarcely veiled on the Circle entitled 'From an Island' in 1877.
Julia as we would expect, photographed her;

This photograph of Anne was taken by Julia in May 1870. 

It is later, when Mr and Mrs Cameron had upped sticks,  and left for Ceylon (along with two coffins an a cow)  that Anny's influence on the Bloomsbury group becomes intertwined with Julia and her own Bohemian legacy. Julia's sister Maria, had a daughter Julia who was first married to Herbert Duckworth, who died suddenly when Maria's children were still infants. Julia was her aunt's favourite model, and for me here is an example of one of her best early successes.

Anny's sister Minny was married to Leslie Stephen, and Minny died suddenly aged just 35. In time a friendship between the widow Julia and the widower Leslie Stephen deepened and they married. They had four children of their own- of which one Virginia Woolf is notable for our links.
Virginia is said to have been heavily influenced by the inspiration of Anne Thackeray, who in 1877 became Anne Thackeray Ritchie when she married her cousin Richmond. They had a house in Freshwater close to Dimbola called 'The Porch'.

Anny is described as absent-minded and with a good sense of humour. My interest in the Mid-Victorians- particularly the Freshwater Circle, and how the Bloombsury set were inspired by them - uses Anny as a key player by family links alone. Her literary accomplishments flesh this out further.

One day, last Autumn when I was putting together a little post about Thomas Hood who was a favourite comic poet amongst the mid-vics, I came across this particular volume of his works;

I decided this was one that I needed to buy, and so worked for virtually nothing that day. Nothing new there, Emily- books have a habit of becoming a habit.

Reading it later at home, I noticed the inscription;

This does look rather like Julia Margaret Cameron's writing! And Anny was at Freshwater on that date. The only thing that's amiss- is tat it says 'Annie' not Anny. A mistake on Julia's part perhaps-she could be careless, or it could be a different Annie, and a different Julia. But it might be Emily, and I shall treasure it anyhow!

Signing off,

Your ever-loving Grand-mother, GiGi xxx