Anna Maria Lenngren, née Malmstedt (18 June 1754 – 8 March 1817) was one of the most famous poets in Swedish history. Her father and brother were also poets.
One of her best-known poems is Några ord till min kära dotter, ifall jag hade någon ("Advice to my dear daughter, if I had one"). She also wrote on Sweden's class system in the satirical poems against snobbery Hans nåds morgonsömn ("His Grace's morning snooze") and Grevinnans besök ("The Countess's visit").
Life
Early life
Anna Maria Lenngren was born in Uppsala as the daughter of the poet Magnus Brynolf Malmstedt (1724–1798), a professor in Latin at Uppsala University, and Märta Johanna Florin (d. 1788). Her father was a member of the Moravian Church and was known for his social work; from 1772, he hosted a school for poor children in his home. Both her parents published hymns, and her brother Johan Magnus (1749–80) wrote secular poems.
Anna Maria Lenngren became set against religion and in favor of the realism of the age of enlightenment through dislike of her father's passionate religious feelings; but her humanism and passion for social justice have also been attributed to her father's influence. In her social views, she felt sympathy for the working classes, opposed the privileges of the nobility and acted as a spokesperson for the "third estate", idealizing a simple and humble life style.
Her father observed her talent early on, and stated that he wished to "make of her not only a literary, but a learned woman". He gave her an advanced education, and she was tutored at home in Latin and the Classics of antiquity. Her favorite poet was Horace.
Early career
She began her career in poetry with reviews, epitomes, epigrams and translations in the 1770s. Among her earliest works were interpretations of Horace, published anonymously in the press. In 1772, she published her first poem under her own name, the funeral poem . In 1774–77, she frequently wrote for Anna Hammar-Rosén's paper .
In 1776 she was commissioned by Duke Charles, the King of Sweden's brother, for a translation of the French operetta Lucile, the first French operetta translated into Swedish. In its introduction, she defended women's right to intellectual work. It was a success: Lenngren was awarded a golden clock as a token of appreciation by the royal Duchess Charlotte, and was given several similar translation commissions by the royal house.
Lenngren enjoyed great success: already in 1774, she was inducted into a literary society in Uppsala, earned good reviews and poetic tributes in the press, became known as a defender of intellectual women, and referred to herself as a "litterata". She became a member of the Royal Society of Sciences and Letters in Gothenburg in 1775, and of the Utile Dulci in 1779. She was one of only three women members of the Utile Dulci, the others being Anna Charlotta von Stapelmohr and Anna Brita Wendelius. In 1777, she repeated her demand in favor of women's right to intellectual pursuits in Thé-conseillen.
Married life
In 1780, she married the official Carl Peter Lenngren (1750–1827). He was the chief editor of , which the famous poet and critic Johan Henric Kellgren and he published. Kellgren worked with Lenngren on several assignments from 1778 onwards, reportedly providing her with inspiration, and sharing an interest in the ideas of Voltaire. She published poems and prose in from 1778 onwards, but after her wedding, she only published anonymously, stopping altogether by the end of the 1780s.
Her marriage caused a great change in her life. After her wedding, she officially stopped being active in the literary world, publishing under pseudonyms, renouncing her previous stand in favor of women's intellectual and literary emancipation, and arguing that women should avoid literary pursuits in favor of developing their character as suitable wives and mothers. Whether she was honest in this change of opinion, or was using irony to make a point, has been the subject of debate. Lenngren came to admire Rousseau, and may have come to support his ideas of the role of women in the 1780s, views further supported by the religious values of simplicity and humility in her childhood home. Ingrid Arvidsson argued that Lenngren had a deeply ambivalent view on the subject, affected by her personality: "The fact that Mrs L was hurt by criticism is evident in several of her poems, but she did also have the more unusual sensitivity of being hurt by admiration".