Margaret Chalmers (12 December 1758 – 12 March 1827) was a Scottish poet, self-styled "first British Thulian quill".

Early life

Margaret Chalmers was baptised on 12 December 1758 in

Lerwick Lerwick ( or ; ; ) is the main town and port of the Shetland archipelago, Scotland. Shetland's only burgh, Lerwick had a population of about 7,000 residents in 2010. It is the northernmost major settlement within the United Kingdom. Centred ...

. Her father, William, is said to have been the son of a

Lord Provost A lord provost () is the convenor of the local authority, the civic head and the lord-lieutenant of one of the principal cities of Scotland. The office is similar to that of a lord mayor. Only the cities of Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Stirlin ...

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

, factor to Earl of Morton and

tacksman A tacksman (, meaning "supporting man"; most common Scots spelling: ''takisman'') was a landholder of intermediate legal and social status in Scottish Highland society. Tenant and landlord Although a tacksman generally paid a yearly rent for th ...

of various local estates. Her mother Catherine (Kitty) Irvine was born in

Trondra Trondra is one of the Scalloway Islands, a subgroup of the Shetland Islands in Scotland. It shelters the harbour of Scalloway and has an area of . History Trondra was becoming rapidly depopulated until 1970, when road bridges were built to neig ...

in 1734. Chalmers had four sisters and a brother, William, who joined the navy and was killed, aged 35, in the

battle of Trafalgar The Battle of Trafalgar was a naval engagement that took place on 21 October 1805 between the Royal Navy and a combined fleet of the French Navy, French and Spanish Navy, Spanish navies during the War of the Third Coalition. As part of Na ...

. The death of her father is not recorded, but by time of Trafalgar, her mother and one of the sisters were bedridden and the family was living in

penury Extreme poverty is the most severe type of poverty, defined by the United Nations (UN) as "a condition characterized by severe deprivation of basic human needs, including food, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter, ...

. Petitions were raised in the hope of securing a government pension, but these failed.

Career

Like her younger fellow Lerwegian poet,

Dorothea Primrose Campbell Dorothea Primrose Campbell (4 May 1793 – 6 January 1863) was a poet, novelist and teacher from the Shetland islands of Scotland. She wrote a novel, ''Harley Radington: A Tale'' (1821), and had poems and short fiction printed in London periodica ...

, whose life was similarly marred by poverty, Chalmers arranged to publish her poetry by subscription and her solitary book was published in

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

in 1813, after long delays during which many subscribers lost interest. She had sent copies of her poems to Sir

Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European literature, European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'' (18 ...

during his visit to

Shetland Shetland (until 1975 spelled Zetland), also called the Shetland Islands, is an archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands, and Norway, marking the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the ...

in 1814. However, there is nothing suggesting she ever received a reply; it is worth mentioning that she spoke to him as an equal in the letters held at the

National Library of Scotland The National Library of Scotland (NLS; ; ) is one of Scotland's National Collections. It is one of the largest libraries in the United Kingdom. As well as a public programme of exhibitions, events, workshops, and tours, the National Library of ...

. After the publishing of her lone work, it did not garner the profit she had hoped for. However, copies were sold in areas from Shetland all the way to

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

. In 1816, she applied instead to the Royal Literary Fund, which awarded her the sum of ten pounds.

Death and legacy

She died in Lerwick on 12 March 1827. "Miss Chalmers Stairs" in Lerwick, named in her honor, no longer exist.

Style and themes

In her lone work, her poems play with the ideas of imagery in regard to reflections. She also speaks on the life of a woman living in Shetland during the late 1700s to early 1800s. Her own perspectives on the socio-economic status of Shetland is reflected in many of her pieces.

Selected works

''Poems''
Newcastle: S. Hodgson, 1813

References

Bibliography

External links

* This article is based on http://shetlopedia.com/Margaret_Chalmers a GFDL wiki. * * https://allpoetry.com/classics/alpha/Margaret%20Chalmers#t_main {{DEFAULTSORT:Chalmers, Margaret 1758 births 1827 deaths 19th-century Scottish poets People from Lerwick Scottish women poets 19th-century Scottish women writers 19th-century Scottish writers