 As a young woman she had gained some note as a lyrical poet, her "Flower of the Forest" appearing in "The Lark," an Edinburgh periodical, in 1765.Thirty-two years later she wrote "Sports of the Genii" to a set of graceful drawings by Susan Macdonald (d. 1803), eldest daughter of Lord-chief-baron Macdonald; these display humour and fancy.She published a volume of poems in 1802 which ran to a second edition the following year.