Phillis Wheatley was kidnapped from her home in Africa when she was just a little girl. She was purchased by John Wheatley to serve his wife; however, the Wheatley family soon recognized her intelligence and abilities. They encouraged her to study the Bible as well as English, Latin, and Greek classics.  She was only thirteen when her first poem was published. Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral, a collection of her works was published in London just a few years later.  She created a sensation wherever her works were presented.