Anne's first year in Tuscumbia is beautifully described in the series of letters she wrote to Sophia Hopkins--Anne's wealthy patron from her days at Perkins. The letter excerpted here illustrates Anne's skill as a writer:

...dear, I am glad that my success has been such a gratification to you. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for the mother-love you gave me when I was a lonely, troublesome schoolgirl, whose thoughtlessness must have caused you no end of anxiety. It is a blessed thing to know that there is some one [sic] who rejoices with us when we are glad, and who takes pride in our achievements. I know you feared that my quick temper and saucy tongue would make trouble for me here; but I am glad to be able to tell you, at the end of the first year of my independence, that I have lived peaceably with all men and women too. There have been murder and treason and arson in my heart; but they haven't got out, thanks to the sharpness of my teeth which have often stood guard over my tongue.

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