Anna Seward, and Classic Lichfield

Anna Seward, and Classic Lichfield is by Stapleton Martin. The book carries a line attributed to Clarke saying that as long as the names of Garrick, of Johnson, and of Seward shall endure, Lichfield will live renowned. The preface notes that literature and music and science have been found this year amazingly prolific in centenary commemorations of their great exemplars, and refers to the death in 1809 of Anna Seward, who for many years held a high rank in the annals of British literature.

The text says the present Bishop's Palace is of stone and was erected in 1687 by Thomas Wood, who was Bishop from 1671 to 1692. The text says Anna Seward had several sisters, and one brother, all of whom died in infancy, except her second sister, Sarah. The text quotes a letter written from Buxton in 1796 to Mr. Saville, in which the writer says her acquaintance there seem to set a far higher value on her talents and conversation, such as they are, than the Lichfieldiens. A monument, the work of Bacon, was erected in the Cathedral, commemorating the parents of Anna Seward, her sister Sarah, and herself.