The Letters of Anne Gilchrist and Walt Whitman

The Letters of Anne Gilchrist and Walt Whitman present the correspondence between famous American poet and British author who wrote the first great criticism of Whitman's monumental work "Leaves of Grass". Their correspondence was initiated through William Michael Rossetti, English writer and critic who edited Whitman's works. Gilchrist traveled to the States in 1876 where she met Whitman and they formed a lasting friendship. The correspondence started with Gilchrist's letter to Whitman in the form of a critical essay she wrote in his defense called A Woman's Estimate of Walt Whitman.

Anne Gilchrist (1828-1885) was an English writer, best known for her connection to American poet Walt Whitman. She came from a distinguished Essex family, and married the art and literary critic Alexander Gilchrist. After her husband's death in 1861, Anne completed his Life of Blake and was an active contributor to magazines. She is perhaps best known for developing a deep attachment to Walt Whitman when she read Leaves of Grass in 1869, and for writing the first great criticism of that work.