Having learned to read as a girl, she became familiar with the Bible, with Shakespeare and Milton, with many standard histories, biographies, and essays, and with the poems of Allan Ramsay, Robert Fergusson and Robert Burns.
She developed an appreciation for reading after learning to read as a young girl. She was exposed to the Bible, Shakespeare and Milton, various historical accounts, biographies, and essays, along with the works of Allan Ramsay, Robert Fergusson, and Robert Burns.