Anna Maria Porter (1780 - 1832) and her sister, Jane (1776 - 1850), novelists, were the daughter of an Irish army surgeon, and sisters of Sir Robert Ker Porter, the painter and traveller. After the death of the father the family settled in Edinburgh, where they enjoyed the friendship of Scott. ANNA at the age of 12 published Artless Tales, the precursor of a series of tales and novels numbering about 50, the best being Don Sebastian (1809).

This article is originally from A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature.