Anne Ford was a gifted young musician of the later eighteenth century. She wanted to make a career on the stage as a performer, but though her father encouraged her music at home, he refused to let her turn professional. However, Anne arranged her own subscription concerts in London, supported by some of London’s most distinguished musicians.

Anne married Captain Philip Thicknesse in 1762, and her attention turned to family, writing, and travelling the Continent. After Philip died unexpectedly while the couple were visiting Boulogne, Anne was interned by the French Revolutionaries, and released only when she proved she could earn her own living, a rich reward for proving herself as a professional all those years before.

116 words