Hall: Sketches of Irish Character

"Mary Ryan's Daughter"

"Mary Ryan's Daughter". Illustration from Mrs. Hall's Sketches of Irish Character, 1842.

"Mary Ryan's Daughter"

"Mary Ryan's Daughter"

"Mary Ryan's Daughter". Illustration from Mrs. Hall's Sketches of Irish Character, 1842.

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Anna Maria Hall (1800–81), born in Dublin, was a writer, editor and philanthropist. She moved to London at the age of 15 where she married the journalist and author Samuel Carter Hall (1800–89) in September 1824. It was Samuel Carter, born near Waterford, who encouraged Anna Maria to pursue a career as a writer.

While Anna Maria produced a large body of literature focusing on a variety of topics, including drama, children's stories, comedies and religious tracts, it is her writings relating to her native Ireland that remain her most popular and enduring works. She has been particularly noted for her strong descriptive talents, as well as a power for depicting character.

Sketches of Irish Character (1829), one of her earliest and most popular works, draws on memories of her early childhood in Wexford. It gives a colourful account of a variety of characters of Irish peasantry. Each account is accompanied by a series of beautiful illustrations.