ABOUT THIS BOOK

The autobiographical narrative of Anne, Lady Halkett.

Born in the early 1620s, Anne, Lady Halkett (née Murray) grew up on the fringes of the English court during a period of increasing political tension. From 1644 to 1699, Halkett recorded her personal and political experiences in both England and Scotland in a series of manuscript meditations and an autobiographical narrative called A True Account of My Life. Royalism, romance, and contemporary religious debates are central to Halkett’s vivid portrayal of her life as a single woman, wife, mother, and widow. Collectively, the materials edited here offer the opportunity to explore how Halkett’s meditational practice informed her life writing in the only version of her writings to date available in a fully modernized edition. The forty-four meditations in this volume redefine the importance of Halkett’s contribution to seventeenth-century life writing.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

Anne, Lady Halkett (1621/2–1699) was a writer whose autobiographical narrative A True Account of My Life reveals her active involvement in the politics of religion. Suzanne Trill is a senior lecturer in English literature at the University of Edinburgh.

REVIEWS

The forty-four meditations Suzanne Trill includes in her edition of Anne Halkett’s A True Account of My Life and Selected Meditations redefine the importance of Halkett’s contribution to seventeenth-century life writing. The meditations’ devotional nature complements the often overlooked religious sensibility in the autobiographical True Account of a life beset by rumors calling into question her relationships with men and her Royalist loyalties. Trill’s substantial introduction emphasizes Halkett’s moral, familial, and financial obligations and sets forth in convincing detail her commitment to the Stuarts. Extensive notes and a comprehensive bibliography reflect the scrupulous scholarship of Trill’s edition. The format of the Other Voices Series provides a welcome addition to the further study of the literary and cultural importance of early modern women.
- Raymond A. Anselment, Emeritus Professor of English, University of Connecticut

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Acknowledgments
Illustrations
Abbreviations
INTRODUCTION
A TRUE ACCOUNT OF MY LIFE (1677–1678)
SELECTED MEDITATIONS
APPENDIX 1: Anne, Lady Halkett, “Letter to the Earl of Lauderdale” (ca. 1672)
APPENDIX 2: Anne, Lady Halkett, “Letter to Her Stepson, Sir Charles Halkett” (n.d.)
APPENDIX 3: Anne, Lady Halkett, “An Information of What Was Left Me by My Mother” (n.d.)
APPENDIX 4: Items from Simon Couper, The Life of the Lady Halket (1701)
1. “Experiences in Fyvie.”
2. “Books by the Lady Halket.”
3. Biblical References in the “Books by the Lady Halket.”
Bibliography
Index