Interview with Anne Finch

AURORE BYRD (AB): Tell me about the place and time that you lived.

ANNE FINCH (AF): I was born in Sydmonton Hampshire in Southern England as Anne Kingsmill in April 1661. I had a sister and a brother, William and Bridget. I was the daughter of Sir William Kingsmill and Anne Haslewood. (Moody 2013) My father died five months after my birth and a year later my mother remarried a man named Sir Thomas Ogle, gaining a half sister named Dorothy. After my mother’s death, there were custody issues with my stepfather but when he died, my siblings and I went to live with our extended family.

In 1690, my husband, Colonel Heneage Finch, and I were invited to live in the home of Charles Finch, the Earl the Winchilsea in Eastwell. Charles was Heneage’s nephew. When Charles died, my husband became Earl of Winchelsea and I became a Countess. We inherited devastating debt from Charles but eventually recovered. During our recovery, we decided to move into a house in London.

AB: What events in your early life made you get interested in the arts?

AF: When I lived with my extended family I interacted with other families who lived nearby. My family is very intelligent and cared deeply about education for women as well as men. I received formal and informal education. I was encouraged to keep an open mind of many different topics and issues going on in the world. I was exposed to Greek and Roman mythology, the Bible, history, poetry, and drama. I can also speak French and Italian. I learned these languages when I was a child.

In 1682, I was a maid of honor to Mary of Modena at St. James Palace. I enjoyed being intellectually challenged by the “Court of Wits”. (Jokinen 2009) I had early attempts at poetry at that time but I kept them a secret because it was not considered suitable for women to write. Years later I wrote a poem based on my relationship with Mary entitled “On the Death of the Queen”. I also met my husband, Heneage, at the Court. We had a very happy marriage and I wrote many love poems for him. My favorite being “A Letter to Dafnis”. During the time we lived in Eastwell, I wrote many poems about my relationships with my friends. I was also inspired by Sarah Churchill and Anne Killigrew, also maids of honor. Both were interested in the literary arts.

AB: What role did mentors play in helping you develop the interest and talent you have as an artist?

AF: My husband was very encouraging and supportive of my writing even in the early years of our marriage. While living with the Earl of Winchilsea, I received much encouragement from him. He was a patron of the arts and he liked my poems very much. Charles started compiling a manuscript of 56 of my poems. My handwriting was difficult to read so Charles transcribed my poems so that they were legible. When Charles died in 1712, he had no heirs, so my husband, his uncle, became the 5th Earl of Winchilsea, and I became the Countess of Winchilsea. (Keith "The Anne Finch Digital Archive")

The women that I met at the court inspired many of the poems about friendship, loyalty, and love. When I moved to London, my friends Jonathan Swift and Alexander Pope encouraged me to write and publish. These men were fellow poets and it initially surprised me that they were so supportive considering I am a woman. I used and was inspired by their writing styles which encouraged me to play with those styles but make them my own.

AB: What was the world of art like in your particular art field when you entered it?

AF: Most of the writers during my time were men who had established a certain way of expressing themselves through the written word. There were writing styles such as fables that those men used that I enjoyed. Though, the majority of the time I went against what most people would’ve expected. I played with a variety of forms in my poems, offering new and unique ideas to those who were willing to listen. There definitely were not that many women who were writers when I first started, or least that were willing to openly admit it.

I was not welcomes with open arms as a writer at the time. Many people were not ready for a strong female figure in the literary world. I was fairly fragile, I showed that through some of my more dark poems. Despite being fragile, I didn’t let the judgmental opinions of those who didn’t approve of my writing get to me. I stood for women who were afraid to express themselves, I was raised to believe everyone was equal.

AB: How did the major cultural, economic and political situations of the time impact your work?

AF: In 1688, Parliament offered the crown of England to William of Orange. It was required to take an oath of alliance but my husband, a courtier, refused to take the oath. In 1690, my husband was arrested for trying to join James II in France. While was my husband was gone, our separation caused me great anxiety and much depression. Many of my works during this period reflect the sadness I was feeling at that time.

After the death of James II, his daughter, Queen Anne, took the throne changing the political climate for the better. I wrote many works towards my retirement about religion. When I began giving up hope, I turned to God. When I suffered severely with depression in my husband’s absence, God was my source of relief. Politics and religion were always very important to me throughout my entire life.

AB: What were your major accomplishments and the methods you used in your art?

AF: I had many individual poems that did fairly well. One of my most notable accomplishments was the manuscript of 56 poems that Charles published. I experimented with rhymes, meter, and I enjoyed imitating several popular genres at the time. Examples of this are occasional poems, satirical verse, religious meditations, and fables. Fables were a very popular genre at the time so a large portion of my work consisted of them. My expression is fairly simple and immediate in comparison to some of the other forms that writers were using at the time.

I am a very personal and intimate writer. Many of my works are based on personal experience and emotions that affected me during my time as a writer. This can also go along with my personal love of writing about the social and political climate. I wrote about politics because earlier in my life I was involved in government with my husband.

AB: What were the key opportunities you had that led to turning points in your life and art?

AF: Through many losses in my husband and I’s relationship, there didn’t seem to be much hope. Starting a new life living with Heneage’s nephew, may have seemed like a bad thing at first, but turned out to be a blessing. He gave me the opportunity to become a better known writer by publishing my poems. He really helped me become confident and much more out to the public. I give much credit to Charles, especially for taking us in during our financial crisis.

Many of my friends also gave me opportunities. I was close to a lot of very intelligent individuals. The majority of them, were writers themselves. I was inspired often and encouraged by them to continue writing. I feel as if I didn’t give up because of some of those lovely souls.

AB: What hardships or roadblocks did you have to overcome in order to be an artist?

AF: When my husband lost his position in the government, he separated himself permanently from the public eye. This caused a significant loss of income for us and was very trying on our marriage. Though it was tough, this experience inspired many of my later works. I wrote about politics, depression and love. My husband was always my muse.

As a writer I was ridiculed and criticized because I was one of only a few open female writers at the time. Sometimes those comments would begin to get to me, but I never let them take me down. I want to be remembered as strong, so that’s what I have to be.

AB: What personal stories best illustrate how you became successful in the arts?

AF: I suppose my first story began at the Court. I knew Mary and met many other incredible women there. I also met my darling husband there. Those experiences were some of the happiest in my entire life. I was inspired tremendously by those people and the memories I made in the Court. I owe some of my success to them. Many of my works were based on their lives, if I didn't know my friends, I would be lost. 

My second story was perhaps living with Charles. My husband had always supported me, but it felt brilliant having someone new enjoy my words so much. If it hadn’t been for him, my career could’ve changed significantly. Charles helped me continue when things seemed very dim. I couldn’t of asked for anything better than someone to take the time to pursue my passion.

AB: How did your work impact the world of art?

As a woman at that time I gained very little respect from fellow writers and readers although I greatly desired respect as a female poet. I hoped that even after my life was over that I will become well known and be remembered as a strong female poet. I wrote many fables and plays though I am more proud of my large variety of poems that I constructed based on my experience in my lifetime.

Even though I wrote a lot about my struggles with depression, I so much desired social justice for women. It was difficult as a woman in the literary establishment and the court. My hope is that one day women will have the same rights as men and will have just as much of a voice. I feel as if my poems may have helped express the feelings of women who could not express themselves. I encouraged many female writers to make a change, my wish is that in the future, my writing can make a significant difference in the way people think.