For the restaurant chain, see Anna Miller's

Anna Miller's

is a chain of restaurants in Hawaii and Japan. The first branch opened in 1973 in Hawaii; most of its expansion since has been in Japan. The chain is known for its breakfast selection and even more known for its desserts such as pies and cheesecakes....

.

Anna, Lady Miller (1741 – 24 June 1781) was an English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 poet

Poet

A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...

 and salon

Salon (gathering)

A salon is a gathering of people under the roof of an inspiring host, held partly to amuse one another and partly to refine taste and increase their knowledge of the participants through conversation. These gatherings often consciously followed Horace's definition of the aims of poetry, "either to...

 hostess, widely ridiculed in fashionable society for what were seen as pretensions to good taste.

Life

Anna was the daughter of Edward Riggs, by his wife, Margaret Pigott, of the historic house of Chetwynd, Shropshire

Shropshire

Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...

. Her grandfather, Edward Riggs, had been a member of the Irish House of Commons

Irish House of Commons

The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland, that existed from 1297 until 1800. The upper house was the House of Lords...

, a commissioner of revenue, and a Privy Councillor in Ireland

Privy Council of Ireland

The Privy Council of Ireland was an institution of the Kingdom of Ireland until 31 December 1800 and of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland 1801-1922...

, and Anna inherited much of his wealth. Her father became a commissioner of customs

Customs

Customs is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting and safeguarding customs duties and for controlling the flow of goods including animals, transports, personal effects and hazardous items in and out of a country...

 in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 in 1741. Horace Walpole described Anna's mother in 1765 as an old rough humourist, who passed for a wit. Fanny Burney

Fanny Burney

Frances Burney , also known as Fanny Burney and, after her marriage, as Madame d’Arblay, was an English novelist, diarist and playwright. She was born in Lynn Regis, now King’s Lynn, England, on 13 June 1752, to musical historian Dr Charles Burney and Mrs Esther Sleepe Burney...

 characterised her as mighty merry and facetious.

In 1765 Anna married John Miller

John Riggs Miller

Sir John Riggs-Miller, 1st Baronet was an Anglo-Irish politician who championed reform of the customary system of weights and measures in favour of a scientifically founded system.-Early life:...

, a member of a poor Irish

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 family seated at Ballicasey, County Clare

County Clare

-History:There was a Neolithic civilisation in the Clare area — the name of the peoples is unknown, but the Prehistoric peoples left evidence behind in the form of ancient dolmen; single-chamber megalithic tombs, usually consisting of three or more upright stones...

. Miller had served through the Seven Years' War

Seven Years' War

The Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...

, but resigned his commission at the peace of 1763. Anna brought him a large fortune, and he adopted her maiden surname before his own. At extravagant cost he built a house at Batheaston

Batheaston

Batheaston is a village and civil parish east of Bath, England , on the north bank of the River Avon. The parish has a population of 2,625...

, near Bath, and laid out a garden, of which Walpole gave a detailed description.

However, the expense of the couple's lifestyle soon demanded that they economise and they moved to France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 and made a tour of the Italian

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 antiquities

Antiquities

Antiquities, nearly always used in the plural in this sense, is a term for objects from Antiquity, especially the civilizations of the Mediterranean: the Classical antiquity of Greece and Rome, Ancient Egypt and the other Ancient Near Eastern cultures...

. In 1776 Anna's lively letters sent to a friend during her travels were published anonymously in three volumes. A second edition, in two volumes, appeared in 1777. The book did enjoy some success but Walpole's opinion was that The poor Arcadia

Arcadia

Arcadia is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the administrative region of Peloponnese. It is situated in the central and eastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. It takes its name from the mythological character Arcas. In Greek mythology, it was the home of the god Pan...

n patron

Patrón

Patrón is a luxury brand of tequila produced in Mexico and sold in hand-blown, individually numbered bottles.Made entirely from Blue Agave "piñas" , Patrón comes in five varieties: Silver, Añejo, Reposado, Gran Patrón Platinum and Gran Patrón Burdeos. Patrón also sells a tequila-coffee blend known...

ess does not spell one word of French or Italian right through her three volumes of travel.

John Miller became a baronet

Baronet

A baronet or the rare female equivalent, a baronetess , is the holder of a hereditary baronetcy awarded by the British Crown...

 in 1778 and Anna became Lady Miller. She instituted a fortnightly literary salon at her villa. Lee characterised the salon as bearing some resemblance to the later follies of the Della Cruscans

Della Cruscans

The Della Cruscans were a circle of European late-18th-century sentimental poets founded by Robert Merry .- History and influence :...

. In Italy, Lady Miller had purchased an antique vase, dug up at Frascati

Frascati

Frascati is a town and comune in the province of Rome in the Lazio region of central Italy. It is located south-east of Rome, on the Alban Hills close to the ancient city of Tusculum. Frascati is closely associated with science, being the location of several international scientific...

 in 1759. The vase was placed on an "altar" decorated with laurel, and each guest was invited to place in the urn an original composition in verse

Verse (poetry)

A verse is formally a single line in a metrical composition, e.g. poetry. However, the word has come to represent any division or grouping of words in such a composition, which traditionally had been referred to as a stanza....

. A committee was appointed to determine the best three productions, and their authors were then crowned by Lady Miller with wreath

Wreath

A wreath is an assortment of flowers, leaves, fruits, twigs and/or various materials that is constructed to resemble a ring. They are used typically as Christmas decorations to symbolize the coming of Christ, also known as the Advent season in Christianity. They are also used as festive headdresses...

s of myrtle. The practice was continued until Lady Miller's death. The urn was then purchased by Edwyn Dowding, of Bath, and placed by him in the public park of the town. The society became famous, and was much laughed at. Anthony Morris Storer, writing to George Selwyn, observed, Their next subject is upon Trifles and Triflers. ... You may try your hand at an ode

Ode

Ode is a type of lyrical verse. A classic ode is structured in three major parts: the strophe, the antistrophe, and the epode. Different forms such as the homostrophic ode and the irregular ode also exist...

, and I do not doubt but you may be crowned with myrtle for your performance. Walpole, in a letter to Henry Seymour Conway

Henry Seymour Conway

Field Marshal Henry Seymour Conway was a British general and statesman. A brother of the 1st Marquess of Hertford, and cousin of Horace Walpole, he began his military career in the War of the Austrian Succession and eventually rose to the rank of Field Marshal .-Family and education:Conway was...

, said, I am glad you went [to Bath], especially as you escaped being initiated into Mrs. Miller's follies at Bath-Easton. Fanny Burney, while on a visit to Bath in 1780, was introduced to Lady Miller by Hester Thrale

Hester Thrale

Hester Lynch Thrale was a British diarist, author, and patron of the arts. Her diaries and correspondence are an important source of information about Samuel Johnson and 18th-century life.-Biography:Thrale was born at Bodvel Hall, Caernarvonshire, Wales...

, and wrote, Nothing here is more tonish than to visit Lady Miller. She is a round, plump, coarse-looking dame of about forty, and while all her aim is to appear an elegant woman of fashion, all her success is to seem an ordinary woman in very common life, with fine clothes on.

A selection of the compositions was published in 1775 The edition was sold out within ten days and a new edition appeared in 1776 with a second volume of poems. Walpole called the book a bouquet of artificial flowers, and ten degrees duller than a magazine. A third volume was published in 1777, and a fourth in 1781. The profits of the sale were donated to charity

Charitable organization

A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization . It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization (NPO). It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A...

. Among the contributors were the Duchess of Northumberland, who wrote on a butter

Butter

Butter is a dairy product made by churning fresh or fermented cream or milk. It is generally used as a spread and a condiment, as well as in cooking applications, such as baking, sauce making, and pan frying...

ed muffin

Muffin

A muffin is an American English name for a type of quick bread that is baked in small portions. Many forms are somewhat like small cakes or cupcakes in shape, although they usually are not as sweet as cupcakes and generally lack frosting. Savory varieties, such as cornbread muffins, also exist...

, Lord Palmerston, Lord Carlisle, Christopher Anstey

Christopher Anstey

Christopher Anstey was an English writer and poet.Anstey was the son of Dr. Anstey, a wealthy clergyman, the rector of Brinkley where he was born. He was educated at Eton College and King's College, Cambridge, where he distinguished himself for his Latin verses. He became a fellow of his college...

, William Mason

William Mason (poet)

William Mason was an English poet, editor and gardener.He was born in Hull and educated at Hull Grammar School and St John's College, Cambridge. He was ordained in 1754 and held a number of posts in the church....

, David Garrick

David Garrick

David Garrick was an English actor, playwright, theatre manager and producer who influenced nearly all aspects of theatrical practice throughout the 18th century and was a pupil and friend of Dr Samuel Johnson...

, Anna Seward

Anna Seward

Anna Seward was an English Romantic poet, often called the Swan of Lichfield.-Life:Seward was the elder daughter of Thomas Seward , prebendary of Lichfield and Salisbury, and author...

, and Lady Miller herself, to whom most of the writers paid extravagant compliments. Samuel Johnson

Samuel Johnson

Samuel Johnson , often referred to as Dr. Johnson, was an English author who made lasting contributions to English literature as a poet, essayist, moralist, literary critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer...

 held the collection in high contempt. Sir Walter Scott

Walter Scott

Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet was a Scottish historical novelist, playwright, and poet, popular throughout much of the world during his time....

 believed that Seward's talents were discovered by Lady Miller, and Seward acknowledged her help in her Poem to the Memory of Lady Miller.

Lady Miller died at the Hot Wells, Bristol

Bristol

Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...

, and was buried in the Abbey Church, Bath. On her monument, designed by John Bacon

John Bacon

John Bacon was a British sculptor.Born in Southwark, he was the son of a cloth worker from Somerset. At the age of fourteen he was apprenticed to a manufacturer of porcelain at Lambeth, where he was at first employed in painting the small ornamental pieces of china, but was promoted to modeller...

 and erected in 1785, there is an epitaph

Epitaph

An epitaph is a short text honoring a deceased person, strictly speaking that is inscribed on their tombstone or plaque, but also used figuratively. Some are specified by the dead person beforehand, others chosen by those responsible for the burial...

in verse, composed by Seward. She left two children, a son and a daughter.