Anne Finch

Anne Finch was an English poet, the third child of Sir William Kingsmill of Sydmonton Court and his wife, Anne Haslewood. She was well-educated as her family believed in good education for girls as well as for boys. Anne Finch is known today as one of the most versatile and gifted poets of her generation. Finch suffered from recurrent bouts of depression, also known as 'spleen', 'melancholy', or the 'vapours'. She believed the malady to be physical in origin and tried various nostrums, including tea, coffee, and mineral springs. Finch expressed her concerns and thoughts on the disease through her poem "The Spleen". The description given in this poem was admired by contemporary physicians for its clinical accuracy. The poem was her best known and most widely acclaimed work during her lifetime.