Whether by eighteenth-century standards or twenty-first-century ones, young Ann’s education was unconventional. While she was barred from an extensive classical program more commonly granted to boys of the genteel class into which she was born, she did receive training that few of her generation could match. As a child, Ann became the ward of her uncle Thomas Bentley during a period when her father transitioned careers. Bentley was famous for partnering with Josiah Wedgwood, whose innovations in ceramics made him a leading producer of fine china and other dishware.
