Jane Ellen Panton, born Jane Ellen Frith (18 October 1847 – 13 May 1923) was an English writer.

Life

Jane Ellen Frith was born in

Regent's Park Regent's Park (officially The Regent's Park) is one of the Royal Parks of London. It occupies in north-west Inner London, administratively split between the City of Westminster and the London Borough of Camden, Borough of Camden (and historical ...

in 1847. Her father,

William Powell Frith William Powell Frith (9 January 1819 – 2 November 1909) was an English painter specialising in genre subjects and panoramic narrative works of life in the Victorian era. He was elected to the Royal Academy in 1853, presenting ''The Slee ...

was a successful painter and Panton reports that he showed very little interest in his children. After her mother, Isabelle Jane, died in 1880 she found out that her father had a mistress and further children. At this point her father married his former mistress. Panton appeared as a model in the 1859 painting trilogy Past and Present by

Augustus Egg Augustus Leopold Egg RA (2 May 1816 – 26 March 1863) was a British Victorian artist, and member of The Clique best known for his modern triptych '' Past and Present'' (1858), which depicts the breakup of a middle-class Victorian family. Biog ...

which incidentally deals with a spouse being unfaithful. She also appeared in another two paintings; one by her father and the other by

Alfred Elmore Alfred Elmore (1815 – 1881) was a British history and genre painter. Life Alfred Elmore was born in Clonakilty, Ireland, the son of John Richard Elmore, a surgeon who retired from the British Army to Clonakilty. His family moved to Londo ...

. Her father's house would host visits by

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...

and

John Ruskin John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English polymath a writer, lecturer, art historian, art critic, draughtsman and philanthropist of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as art, architecture, Critique of politic ...

. She married James Albert Panton"Obituary: Mrs. J. E. Panton", ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'', 1923 at All Saints' Church in

Kensington Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around west of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensingt ...

on 10 August 1869. Her husband was a partner in a family brewery business and he was bought out by his brother's widow in 1882. During that period she lived in the Dorset market town of Wareham, which featured in her memoir of 1909, ''Fresh Leaves And Green Pastures'', the domestic print run of which was destroyed in settlement of a libel action brought by local squire Guy Marston, who contested the claim that he had wantonly destroyed records of the Rempstone estate upon his inheritance. The memoir was, however, published in the USA. The couple briefly lived in Bournemouth before settling in Bromley for four years, where Panton befriended the writer

Dinah Craik Dinah Maria Craik (; born Dinah Maria Mulock, often credited as Miss Mulock or Mrs. Craik; 20 April 1826 – 12 October 1887) was an English novelist and poet. She is best remembered for her novel, '' John Halifax, Gentleman'', which presents ...

who lived nearby. During this time they awaited payment for the sale of their share in the brewery, and Panton decided to write to raise money, pitching the idea of articles on home furnishing to the '' Ladies Pictorial'' magazine. She showed originality in her articles and in the idea of writing about interior design. In addition, Panton earned substantial sums as an interior design consultant. Panton's novels were numerous, but "undistinguished". They included ''Having and Holding. A Story of Country Life'', which deals with rural politics in a fictional Southern English county, and ''The Cannibal Crusader: an Allegory for the Times'' (1908), in which a noble savage exposes the folly of modern society. An obituary in ''The Times'' stated she had 'a vivid and brilliant personality' and was 'a witty and outspoken conversationalist' (21 May 1923). Jane Ellen Panton died in

Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London, part of the London Borough of Camden in England. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural institution, cultural, intellectual, and educational ...

in 1923.

Works

*''Panton's Poems'' (1880) *''Country Sketches in Black and White'' (1882) *''From Kitchen to Garret: Hints for Young Householders'' (1887) *''Nooks and Corners; being the Companion Volume to "From Kitchen to Garret"'' (1889) *
Having and Holding: A Story of Country Life
' (1890) *''Homes of Taste: Economical Hints'' (1890) *''Within Four Walls: A Handbook for Invalids'' (1893) *''Suburban Residences and How To Circumvent Them'' (1896)
''Leaves from a Life''
(her autobiography, 1908) *''A Cannibal Crusader: An Allegory for the Times'' (1908) * ''Fresh leaves and green pastures'' (1909) *''Leaves from a Garden'' (1910) *''Most of the Game'' (1911) *''More Leaves from a Life'' (further volume of autobiography, 1911)

Family

James Albert Panton and Jane had five children, three sons and two daughters. One of the sons was the physician Philip Noel Panton (1877–1950).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Panton, Jane Ellen 1847 births 1923 deaths Writers from the London Borough of Camden English women writers