a writer of prose, particularly for her autobiography and the many letters of hers that survive. Her style is strong and vivid, and when she was not too preoccupied with moral and religious themes, she tended, like her sister Jane, to pessimism about her own spiritual worth – it is often shot through with a pleasing and sometimes acerbic wit. The autobiography also provides detailed information on the life of what was a moderately prosperous dissenting family in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Appreciations Ann Taylor's son, Josiah Gilbert, wrote: "Two little poems – 'My Mother', and 'The Star', are perhaps, more frequently quoted than any. The first, a lyric of life, was by Ann, the second, of nature, by Jane; and they illustrate this difference between the sisters." Both poems attracted the compliment of frequent parody throughout the 19th century. The logician Augustus De Morgan asserted (somewhat extravagantly) that Gilbert's mother wrote "one of the most beautiful lyrics in the English language, or any other language" and not knowing that Ann Gilbert was still alive, called upon Tennyson to supply a less heterodox version of the final stanza, which seemed to de Morgan unworthy of the rest. Original Poems for Infant Minds by several young persons (by Ann and Jane, Adelaide O'Keeffe, and others) was first issued in 1804, and when it proved successful, a second volume followed in 1805. Adelaide O'Keeffe authored over 30 of the poems in the collection, though she has rarely received full credit for this. Ann Taylor's verse "My Mother" became a sentimental favourite. It was republished throughout the 19th century and was still being memorized as a standard recital work into the mid-20th century. Donelle Ruwe traces the publishing history of "My Mother," beginning in 1807 when the poem was first published as a stand-alone, single-volume work. The 1807 "My Mother" featured illustrations by Peltro Williams Tomkins. While Tomkins was inspired by the attitudes of Lady Emma Hamilton, later illustrators of "My Mother," such as Walter Crane in 1873, reflected changing ideologies of motherhood as well as the artistic style of the Arts and Crafts Movement. Other poems of hers from Original Poems for Infant Minds are also significant. Ruwe identifies Ann's "The Sign-Post" as an interesting example of the clash between Romantic-era Gothic literature for adults and the different expectations of children's texts. As Ruwe notes in an essay, "The