The Poetical Amusements of an “Arcadian Patroness”: The Arcadian Roots of Lady Anna Miller’s Batheaston Poetry Contests (1774–1781)

Ever since the establishment of Lady Miller's Batheaston salon, numerous statements have been made associating her poetry contests with the Arcadian Giuochi Olimpici, a prestigious festival she is believed to have learned about during her Grand Tour. However, the relationship between the Arcadian and Batheaston events has never been further examined, nor have Lady Miller's sources been confirmed. This article reassesses the Batheaston poetry contests (1774–1781) by comparing them with Arcadia's Giuochi Olimpici. Drawing on Miller's Letters from Italy and her Poetical Amusements anthologies, it reconstructs the routes through which Miller encountered the Arcadian phenomena and demonstrates that key features of her contests closely mirror the classical traditions that were revived and popularised by the Arcadia Academy. The article argues that Miller strategically appropriated these practices to cultivate a distinctive literary identity for herself and establish an innovative form of patronage that increased the opportunities of aspiring women poets. Ultimately, by restoring the classical – and Arcadian – dimension of Miller's enterprise, this article demonstrates how the very traditions that shaped her literary initiative also contributed to its long-discredited reputation, offering a revised assessment of her importance within the patronage culture of eighteenth-century Britain.