The Letters of Anne Gilchrist and Walt Whitman

This 1918 volume provides the complete letters between American poet Walt Whitman and his controversial friend, English writer Anne Gilchrist. Gilchrist became an avid Walt Whitman fan after reading his Leaves of Grass. She moved to Philadelphia with her children in 1876 after her eldest daughter voiced an interest in attending medical school. There, Anne met Whitman and the two formed a lasting friendship. After writing the first major criticism of Leaves of Grass entitled A Woman's Estimate of Walt Whitman around 1870, Anne began to hear rumors about the possible romantic relationship between the two. While she and Whitman remained in touch through detailed letters, Anne moved back to England in 1879, never seeing the American poet again.