Anne Long (c.1681-1711)
Encyclopedia
Anne Long was born at Draycot Cerne
, Wiltshire
, one of six children of James Long (d. c.1690) and his wife, Susanna, née Strangways. A celebrated beauty, she was the granddaughter of Sir James Long, 2nd Baronet
, and of another leading civil war politician, Giles Strangways
(1615–1675). She seems to have spent much of her childhood at her maternal grandparent's home at Melbury, Dorchester, Dorset, probably due to her parents' unhappy marriage. Privately educated, she never married. Long was greatly admired by Jonathan Swift
, although their relationship never had the same intensity as those Swift had with Esther Johnson
and Esther Vanhomrigh
.
society, possibly as early as 1703. She became a toast of the Kit-Cat Club
and Thomas Wharton, 1st Marquess of Wharton
had her name engraved on the club's drinking glasses:
Her closest associate was the niece of Sir Isaac Newton
, Catherine Barton
(d. 1739), rumoured to be the mistress of Charles Montagu, 1st Earl of Halifax
, and later wife of politician John Conduitt. Long first met Swift in 1707 at the London home of the Vanhomrighs, whom she described in her letters to Swift, as her cousins, although their exact family relationship is unclear. 'A decree for concluding the treaty between Dr Swift and Mrs Long', was written by Swift in December 1707 or January 1708 and published by Edmund Curll
in Letters, Poems and Tales: Amorous, Satyrical, and Gallant in 1718. Her position in society was financially sustained by debts contracted against an expected inheritance from her grandmother Lady Dorothy Long, née Leach, with whom she corresponded regularly, but Lady Long did not die until 1710.
, Norfolk
, to hold off her creditors, where she lived incognito near St Nicholas's Chapel and passed herself off as 'being of George Smyth's family of Nitly' (Correspondence of Jonathan Swift, 1.274). Her situation was not improved at her grandmother's death, as her brother Sir James Long, 5th Baronet
, withheld her legacy.
Despite Anne Long's imprudence with money, Swift still held her in high regard. In his slowly and tortuously developing passion for Esther Vanhomrigh, his Vanessa, he even used her as a confidante
. On one occasion, not wishing to openly offend Vanessa, he dropped a gentle hint about her behaviour by addressing a letter about her to Anne but sending it via Vanessa, conveniently forgetting to seal the enclosure; thus Vanessa would get to know what he thought about her but couldn't protest or remonstrate, since to do so she would have had to confess that she had read his private letter.
After her exile to King's Lynn, Anne, in her letters to Swift, enjoyed 'describing the rituals of provincial life and the mysterious figure that she cut there' (Nokes, 142). Swift turned against her only once, writing on 11 December 1710 that 'I had a letter from Mrs. Long, that has quite turned my stomach against her: no less than two nasty jests in it with dashes to suppose them. She is corrupted in that country town with vile conversation' (Swift, Journal to Stella, 1.118–19).
and dropsy, and she died in King's Lynn on 22 December. When Swift arrived in London at the Vanhomrighs' house on 25 December, for Christmas dinner, he was told the news: 'I never was more afflicted at any death - She had all sorts of amiable qualities, and no ill ones but the indiscretion of neglecting her own affairs' (ibid., 2.445–6). Swift suspected that to avoid the expense of a London funeral or public mourning, Anne's brother intended to keep her death a secret. Swift placed a notice of her death in The Post-Boy of 27 December. He also wrote to Thomas Pyle, the minister of St Nicholas's Chapel, at King's Lynn, revealing Anne's true identity and asking that she be buried in the church and that a memorial stone be placed there at Swift's own expense. Swift wrote in his account book a private commemoration of Anne Long, which was perhaps his most eloquent appreciation of her: 'She was the most beautiful Person of the Age she lived in, of great Honr and Virtue, infinite Sweetness and Generosity of Temper and true good Sense'.
She figures in "The British Court", a poem published in 1707.
Draycot Cerne
Draycot Cerne is a village in Wiltshire, United Kingdom. It is part of the civil parish of Sutton Benger...
, Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
, one of six children of James Long (d. c.1690) and his wife, Susanna, née Strangways. A celebrated beauty, she was the granddaughter of Sir James Long, 2nd Baronet
Sir James Long, 2nd Baronet
Sir James Long, 2nd Baronet was an English politician and Royalist soldier.Born at South Wraxall, Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire, the son of Sir Walter Long and Anne Ley , he was educated at Magdalen College, Oxford, and admitted to Lincoln's Inn in 1634...
, and of another leading civil war politician, Giles Strangways
Giles Strangways
Giles Strangways was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons variously between 1640 and 1675. He fought on the Royalist side in the English Civil War...
(1615–1675). She seems to have spent much of her childhood at her maternal grandparent's home at Melbury, Dorchester, Dorset, probably due to her parents' unhappy marriage. Privately educated, she never married. Long was greatly admired by Jonathan Swift
Jonathan Swift
Jonathan Swift was an Irish satirist, essayist, political pamphleteer , poet and cleric who became Dean of St...
, although their relationship never had the same intensity as those Swift had with Esther Johnson
Esther Johnson
Esther Johnson was the English friend of Jonathan Swift, known as "Stella".Newfoundland-born author Trudy J. Morgan-Cole wrote a novel in 2006 detailing fictionalized portions of the Swift/Johnson friendship in The Violent Friendship of Esther Johnson...
and Esther Vanhomrigh
Esther Vanhomrigh
Esther Vanhomrigh , an Irish woman of Dutch descent, was a longtime lover and correspondent of Jonathan Swift. Swift's letters to her were published after her death...
.
Kit-Cat Club
Anne Long became a well known figure in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
society, possibly as early as 1703. She became a toast of the Kit-Cat Club
Kit-Cat Club
The Kit-Cat Club was an early 18th century English club in London with strong political and literary associations, committed to the furtherance of Whig objectives, meeting at the Trumpet tavern in London, and at Water Oakley in the Berkshire countryside.The first meetings were held at a tavern in...
and Thomas Wharton, 1st Marquess of Wharton
Thomas Wharton, 1st Marquess of Wharton
Thomas Wharton, 1st Marquess of Wharton PC was an English nobleman and politician. He was the son of Philip Wharton, 4th Baron Wharton and his second wife, Jane Goodwin, only daughter of Colonel Arthur Goodwin of Upper Winchendon, Buckinghamshire, and heiress to the extensive Goodwin estates in...
had her name engraved on the club's drinking glasses:
Her closest associate was the niece of Sir Isaac Newton
Isaac Newton
Sir Isaac Newton PRS was an English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher, alchemist, and theologian, who has been "considered by many to be the greatest and most influential scientist who ever lived."...
, Catherine Barton
Catherine Barton
Catherine Barton was Isaac Newton's half-niece, probable mistress of Charles Montague and later, the wife of John Conduitt.-Early life:...
(d. 1739), rumoured to be the mistress of Charles Montagu, 1st Earl of Halifax
Charles Montagu, 1st Earl of Halifax
Charles Montagu, 1st Earl of Halifax, KG, PC, FRS was an English poet and statesman.-Early life:Charles Montagu was born in Horton, Northamptonshire, the son of George Montagu, fifth son of 1st Earl of Manchester...
, and later wife of politician John Conduitt. Long first met Swift in 1707 at the London home of the Vanhomrighs, whom she described in her letters to Swift, as her cousins, although their exact family relationship is unclear. 'A decree for concluding the treaty between Dr Swift and Mrs Long', was written by Swift in December 1707 or January 1708 and published by Edmund Curll
Edmund Curll
Edmund Curll was an English bookseller and publisher. His name has become synonymous, through the attacks on him by Alexander Pope, with unscrupulous publication and publicity. Curll rose from poverty to wealth through his publishing, and he did this by approaching book printing in a mercenary...
in Letters, Poems and Tales: Amorous, Satyrical, and Gallant in 1718. Her position in society was financially sustained by debts contracted against an expected inheritance from her grandmother Lady Dorothy Long, née Leach, with whom she corresponded regularly, but Lady Long did not die until 1710.
Mounting debts
In September of that year Swift wrote that there were 'bailiffs in her house' and Anne Long dissolved her household in Albermarle Street, London and fled to King's LynnKing's Lynn
King's Lynn is a sea port and market town in the ceremonial county of Norfolk in the East of England. It is situated north of London and west of Norwich. The population of the town is 42,800....
, Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
, to hold off her creditors, where she lived incognito near St Nicholas's Chapel and passed herself off as 'being of George Smyth's family of Nitly' (Correspondence of Jonathan Swift, 1.274). Her situation was not improved at her grandmother's death, as her brother Sir James Long, 5th Baronet
Sir James Long, 5th Baronet
Sir James Long, 5th Baronet was an English politician.The son of James Long and his wife Susan Strangways, he was baptised at Melbury, Dorchester, Dorset in 1682. Long was Member of Parliament for Chippenham in 1705, 1707, 1708, and 1710, and for Wootton Bassett in 1714...
, withheld her legacy.
Despite Anne Long's imprudence with money, Swift still held her in high regard. In his slowly and tortuously developing passion for Esther Vanhomrigh, his Vanessa, he even used her as a confidante
Confidante
A confidante is a type of sofa, originally characterized by a triangular seat at each end, so that people could sit at either end of the sofa and be close to the person sitting in the middle...
. On one occasion, not wishing to openly offend Vanessa, he dropped a gentle hint about her behaviour by addressing a letter about her to Anne but sending it via Vanessa, conveniently forgetting to seal the enclosure; thus Vanessa would get to know what he thought about her but couldn't protest or remonstrate, since to do so she would have had to confess that she had read his private letter.
After her exile to King's Lynn, Anne, in her letters to Swift, enjoyed 'describing the rituals of provincial life and the mysterious figure that she cut there' (Nokes, 142). Swift turned against her only once, writing on 11 December 1710 that 'I had a letter from Mrs. Long, that has quite turned my stomach against her: no less than two nasty jests in it with dashes to suppose them. She is corrupted in that country town with vile conversation' (Swift, Journal to Stella, 1.118–19).
Death in exile
In late 1711, by careful management of her £100 annuity and £60 rental from 'Newburg-house' in London, (Swift, Journal to Stella, 2.446) having almost paid her debts, Anne hoped to be able to leave King's Lynn. However, she had for some time suffered from asthmaAsthma
Asthma is the common chronic inflammatory disease of the airways characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and bronchospasm. Symptoms include wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath...
and dropsy, and she died in King's Lynn on 22 December. When Swift arrived in London at the Vanhomrighs' house on 25 December, for Christmas dinner, he was told the news: 'I never was more afflicted at any death - She had all sorts of amiable qualities, and no ill ones but the indiscretion of neglecting her own affairs' (ibid., 2.445–6). Swift suspected that to avoid the expense of a London funeral or public mourning, Anne's brother intended to keep her death a secret. Swift placed a notice of her death in The Post-Boy of 27 December. He also wrote to Thomas Pyle, the minister of St Nicholas's Chapel, at King's Lynn, revealing Anne's true identity and asking that she be buried in the church and that a memorial stone be placed there at Swift's own expense. Swift wrote in his account book a private commemoration of Anne Long, which was perhaps his most eloquent appreciation of her: 'She was the most beautiful Person of the Age she lived in, of great Honr and Virtue, infinite Sweetness and Generosity of Temper and true good Sense'.
She figures in "The British Court", a poem published in 1707.
Further reading
- Hand of Fate. The History of the Longs, Wellesleys and the Draycot Estate in Wiltshire. Tim Couzens 2001 ISBN 1 903341 72 6
Sources
- I.Ehrenpreis, Swift: the man, his works and the age, 3 vols. (1962–83) ·
- D.Nokes, Jonathan Swift: a hypocrite reversed (1985) ·
- E.Hardy, The conjured spirit (1949) ·
- J.Swift, Journal to Stella, ed. H. Williams, 2 vols. (1948) ·
- The correspondence of Jonathan Swift, ed. H. Williams, 5 vols. (1963–5)
- Dictionary of National Biography