Pratt, Anne (1806–1893)

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Pratt, Anne (1806–1893)

British botanist and author. Born in Strood, Kent, England, in 1806; died in London, England, in July 1893; second of three daughters of Robert Pratt (a grocer) and Sarah Pratt; married John Peerless, in 1866.

A descendent of French Huguenots who fled from religious persecution in France in 1572, Anne Pratt was born in 1806 and inherited her interest in flowers from her mother; as a child, she created an herbarium which became quite valuable. Pratt published her first book, The Field, The Garden and The Woodland, at age 20, and wrote 16 additional botanical volumes during her lifetime. Her best-known and most extensive work, The Flowering Plants and Ferns of Great Britain, was begun in 1849, and included five volumes at the time of its publication in 1855. Her other books include Flowers and their Associations, Pratt's Catechism of Botany, and Common Things of the Seashore. During her later career, Pratt also wrote articles of a more general nature for contemporary women's magazines.

Through her books, Pratt attempted to instill a love of botany in her readers. She also endeavored to inspire and educate them, sprinkling her works liberally with religious references and little-known facts. "In the words of the Scriptures the flowers appear on the earth and the singing of birds is come," she wrote under the "Bluebell" entry in her book Wild Flowers, which she also illustrated herself. "[A]lthough the bluebell has no particular use now," she added, "in former times it was greatly prized…. [W]hen still ruffs were worn the sticky juice of the bluebell was used as a starch. Book binders used it also to stiffen the spines." Pratt sent a copy of Wild Flowers to Queen Victoria , who was not only pleased to accept it, but also made a royal command to receive all of Pratt's subsequent publications.

Pratt, who married when she was 60, lived her last years in Shepherd's Bush, London, where she died in July 1893. She retained a child's curiosity about growing things to the end, and is reported as saying shortly before her death: "I have had a very happy life."