Jane Bowdler (1743–1784) was an English poet and essayist. Her work gained half a century's popularity after her death.

Family

Jane was born 14 February 1743, the eldest daughter of Thomas Bowdler of

Bath, Somerset Bath (Received Pronunciation, RP: , ) is a city in Somerset, England, known for and named after its Roman Baths (Bath), Roman-built baths. At the 2021 census, the population was 94,092. Bath is in the valley of the River Avon, Bristol, River A ...

(1706–1785) and his wife Elizabeth Stuart Bowdler, ''née'' Cotton (died 1797), was a religious writer. Jane was the sister of John Bowdler the Elder (1746–1823), a religious pamphleteer, and of

Thomas Bowdler Thomas Bowdler (; 11 July 1754 – 24 February 1825) was an English physician known for publishing '' The Family Shakespeare'', an expurgated edition of William Shakespeare's plays edited by his sister Henrietta Maria Bowdler. The two sought ...

(1754–1825), who is remembered for publishing expurgated editions of

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

, edited largely by his sister

Harriet Harriet(t) may refer to: * Harriet (name), a female name ''(includes list of people with the name)'' Places *Harriet, Queensland, rural locality in Australia * Harriet, Arkansas, unincorporated community in the United States * Harriett, Texas, ...

, and of other works.Sidney Lee: Bowdler, Jane (1743–1784). Rev. Rebecca Mills: ''ODNB'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004, online e. January 2008
Retrieved 9 January 2011.
/ref> The non-literary member of the family was another sister, Frances (born c. 1747).ODNB entry for their mother, Elizabeth Stuart Bowdler
Retrieved 9 January 2011. Subscription required.
/ref> She was presumably the lively, unconventional "Miss Bowdler" of Bath, who features in a diary that the 20-year-old

Frances Burney Frances Burney (13 June 1752 – 6 January 1840), also known as Fanny Burney and later Madame d'Arblay, was an English satirical novelist, diarist and playwright. In 1786–1790 she held the post of "Keeper of the Robes" to Charlotte of Meckle ...

kept of a lengthy visit to

Teignmouth Teignmouth ( ) is a seaside town, fishing port and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the English county of Devon. It is on the north bank of the estuary mouth of the River Teign, about south of Exeter. The town had a population of 14 ...

, Devon, in 1773.

Posthumous success

Jane Bowdler took to writing when she lost her voice for a period of four years in about 1777. She had suffered from intermittent ill health since contracting smallpox in 1759. She died in 1784 at Ashley, near Bath, and was buried in the family vault in London. Jane's ''Poems and Essays by a Lady Lately Deceased'' was published by her family for charity in 1786 and reprinted 16 times up to 1830. A special edition was printed in 1797 in line with her mother's will, and distributed to friends instead of a mourning ring. Among the book's many advocates was

Queen Charlotte Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (Sophia Charlotte; 19 May 1744 – 17 November 1818) was Queen of Great Britain and Ireland as the wife of King George III from their marriage on 8 September 1761 until her death in 1818. The Acts of Un ...

, who read it three times. Further unpublished pieces by Jane appeared in a family memoir.Thomas Bowdler: Memoir of the Life of John Bowdler (London: A. & R. Spottiswoode, 1824).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowdler, Jane 1743 births 1784 deaths 18th-century English women writers 18th-century English writers 18th-century English poets 18th-century English essayists English women poets English essayists British women essayists Writers from Bath, Somerset English women non-fiction writers