Jane Porter (writer)
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Jane Porter (3 December 1775 – 24 May 1850) was an English
historical novel Historical fiction is a literary genre in which a fictional plot takes place in the setting of particular real historical events. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to oth ...
ist, dramatist and literary figure. Her bestselling novels, '' Thaddeus of Warsaw'' (1803) and ''The Scottish Chiefs'' (1810) are seen as among the earliest historical novels in a modern style and among the first to become bestsellers. They were abridged and remained popular among children well into the twentieth century.


Life

Jane Porter was born in
Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city in north east England **County Durham, a ceremonial county which includes Durham *Durham, North Carolina, a city in North Carolina, United States Durham may also refer to: Places ...
, England, the third of five children of the Irishman William Porter and Jane Blenkinsop Porter of Durham. Tall and beautiful as she grew up, young Jane Porter's grave air earned her the nickname La Penserosa after
John Milton John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet, polemicist, and civil servant. His 1667 epic poem ''Paradise Lost'' was written in blank verse and included 12 books, written in a time of immense religious flux and politic ...
's poem ''
Il Penseroso ''Il Penseroso'' ("the thinker") is a poem by John Milton, first found in the 1645/1646 quarto of verses ''The Poems of Mr. John Milton, both English and Latin'', published by Humphrey Moseley. It was presented as a companion piece to '' L ...
''. After her father's death, Jane's family moved to
Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
, where she studied at a charity school under the schoolmaster George Fulton. Her family was acquainted with
Sir Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European literature, European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'' (18 ...
. After stints in Durham and Ireland, the Porter family moved to
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
in the 1790s, where the sisters entered a circle of famous and future-famous actors, artists, and literary women, including
Elizabeth Inchbald Elizabeth Inchbald (née Simpson, 15 October 1753 – 1 August 1821) was an English novelist, actress, dramatist, and translator. Her two novels, '' A Simple Story'' and '' Nature and Art'', have received particular critical attention. Life B ...
,
Anna Laetitia Barbauld Anna Laetitia Barbauld (, by herself possibly , as in French, Aikin; 20 June 1743 – 9 March 1825) was a prominent English poet, essayist, literary critic, editor, and author of children's literature. A prominent member of the Blue Stockings ...
,
Hannah More Hannah More (2 February 1745 – 7 September 1833) was an English religious writer, philanthropist, poet, and playwright in the circle of Johnson, Reynolds and Garrick, who wrote on moral and religious subjects. Born in Bristol, she taught at ...
, Elizabeth Hamilton,
Selina Davenport Selina Davenport (27 June 1779 – 14 July 1859) was an English novelist, briefly married to the miscellanist and biographer Richard Alfred Davenport. Her eleven published novels have been recently described as "effective if stereotyped".''The ...
,
Elizabeth Benger Elizabeth Ogilvy Benger (baptised on 15 June 1775 at West Camel, Somerset, died on 9 January 1827 in London) was an English biographer, novelist and poet. Some of her poetry had a strong social message. Early life and education Elizabeth was th ...
and Mrs Champion de Crespigny. Porter's siblings also achieved some fame. Her sister
Anna Maria Porter Anna Maria Porter (1778–1832) was an English poet and novelist. Life The sister of Jane Porter and Robert Ker Porter, she was probably born on 17 December 1778 and was baptized in Salisbury on 25 December 1778. She spent her infancy in Durh ...
was likewise a novelist. Her brother Sir
Robert Ker Porter Sir Robert Ker Porter, KCH (1777–1842) was a Scottish artist, author, diplomat, and traveller. Known today for his accounts of his travels in Russia, Spain, Portugal and Persia, he was one of the earliest panorama painters in Britain, was ap ...
became a painter. She died in Bristol at the age of 74.


Works

Porter is seen to have "crafted and pioneered many of the narrative tools most commonly associated with both the national tale and the historical novel," though her claims in her lifetime to have done so were often ridiculed and dismissed. Her 1810 work ''The Scottish Chiefs'', about
William Wallace Sir William Wallace (, ; Norman French: ; 23 August 1305) was a Scottish knight who became one of the main leaders during the First War of Scottish Independence. Along with Andrew Moray, Wallace defeated an English army at the Battle of St ...
, one of the earliest examples of the
historical novel Historical fiction is a literary genre in which a fictional plot takes place in the setting of particular real historical events. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to oth ...
, was very successful. The French version was banned by Napoleon. It was said to have influenced Scott and other writers and has remained popular with Scottish children. ''The Pastor's Fireside'' (1817) was a story set in the 18th century about the later members of the
House of Stuart The House of Stuart, originally spelled Stewart, also known as the Stuart dynasty, was a dynasty, royal house of Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland and later Kingdom of Great Britain, Great ...
. Though one of the most popular writers of her time, the profligacy and financial indecisions of her brothers kept her very poor, as she and Anna Maria were constantly obliged to use their incomes to pay off their brothers' debts. Porter wrote '' Thaddeus of Warsaw'' in 1803, set in the late 18th century
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...
. Despite its success, Porter did not benefit financially, as its copyright was held by its various publishers. To gain income from it, she resorted to ostensibly new editions published with prefaces and minor changes. She applied unsuccessfully for a literary pension, and being personally "totally destitute or nearly so", had to move between homes of her friends. Porter contributed to periodicals and wrote the play ''Switzerland'' (1819), which seems to have been deliberately sabotaged by its lead,
Edmund Kean Edmund Kean (4 November 178715 May 1833) was a British Shakespearean actor, who performed, among other places, in London, Belfast, New York, Quebec, and Paris. He was known for his short stature, tumultuous personal life, and controversial div ...
, and closed after its first performance. She is sometimes associated with the 1822 production ''Owen, Prince of Powys'', which closed after only three performances, but this was actually by
Samson Penley SAMSON (Software for Adaptive Modeling and Simulation Of Nanosystems) is a computer software platform for molecular design being developed bOneAngstromand previously by the NANO-D group at the French Institute for Research in Computer Science and ...
. Porter also wrote ''Tales Round a Winter Hearth'' (1826) and ''Coming Out; and The Field of Forty Footsteps'' (1828) with her sister, Anna Maria. A romance, ''Sir Edward Seaward's Diary'' (1831), purporting to record actual circumstances and edited by Jane, was written by her brother, Dr William Ogilvie Porter, as letters in the University of Durham Porter archives show. In her later years, Porter continued to write pieces for journals. Many appeared anonymously or were simply signed "J. P." Her wide-ranging topics included
Peter the Great Peter I (, ; – ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia, Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of Russia, Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned j ...
,
Simón Bolívar Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios (24July 178317December 1830) was a Venezuelan statesman and military officer who led what are currently the countries of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Panama, and Bol ...
, and the African explorer
Dixon Denham Dixon Denham (1 January 1786 – 9 June 1828) was a British soldier, explorer of West Central Africa, and ultimately Governor of Sierra Leone. Early life Dixon Denham was born at Salisbury Square, Fleet Street, London on New Year's Day, 1786, t ...
.


Influences

Porter, like many contemporaries, was fascinated by
Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824) was an English poet. He is one of the major figures of the Romantic movement, and is regarded as being among the greatest poets of the United Kingdom. Among his best-kno ...
. The villain in ''The Pastor's Fireside'', Duke Wharton, has been said to cast "an unmistakably Byronic shadow". Additional influences on her writing included her schoolmaster George Fulton,
Edmund Spenser Edmund Spenser (; – 13 January 1599 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.) was an English poet best known for ''The Faerie Queene'', an epic poem and fantastical allegory celebrating the House of Tudor, Tudor dynasty and Elizabeth I. He is re ...
's ''
The Faerie Queene ''The Faerie Queene'' is an English epic poem by Edmund Spenser. Books IIII were first published in 1590, then republished in 1596 together with books IVVI. ''The Faerie Queene'' is notable for its form: at over 36,000 lines and over 4,000 sta ...
'' and Sir
Philip Sidney Sir Philip Sidney (30 November 1554 – 17 October 1586) was an English poet, courtier, scholar and soldier who is remembered as one of the most prominent figures of the Elizabethan era, Elizabethan age. His works include a sonnet sequence, ' ...
's ''Arcadia''. She in turn influenced writers in her time.


Works

*''The Two Princes of Persia, Addressed to Youth'' (1801) *'' Thaddeus of Warsaw'' (1803) *''A Sketch of the Campaign of Count A. Suwarrow Ryminski'' (1804) *''The Scottish Chiefs: A Romance'' (1810) *''The Pastor's Fire-Side: A Novel'' (1817) *''Switzerland'' (1819) *''Owen, Prince of Powys'' (1822) *''Duke Christian of Lüneburg'' (1824) With Anna Maria Porter: *''Tales Round a Winter Hearth'' (1826) *''Coming Out'' (1828) *''The Field of Forty Footsteps'' (1828)


References


Literature

*
Devoney Looser Devoney Kay Looser (born April 11, 1967) is an American literary critic and Jane Austen scholar. She is Regents Professor of English at Arizona State University, where she focuses on women's writing and the history of the novel. Early life and ed ...
. ''Sister Novelists: The Trailblazing Porter Sisters, Who Paved the Way for Austen and the Brontës'', New York; London; Oxford; New Delhi; Sydney: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2022,


External links

* * * * *
Porter Family Collection
at th
Kenneth Spencer Research Library
at the
University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital ...

Episode on Jane and Anna Maria Porter
with biographe
Devoney Looser
at What'sHerName Podcast


Jane Porter biographies


Sister Novelists: The Trailblazing Porter Sisters, Who Paved the Way for Austen and the Brontës (Jane and Maria Porter) by Devoney Looser (2022)british-fiction.cf.ac.ukWhat'sHerName Podcast
{{DEFAULTSORT:Porter, Jane 1775 births 1850 deaths 19th-century English women writers English women historical novelists Women of the Regency era Writers from Durham, England Writers of historical fiction set in the Middle Ages Writers of historical fiction set in the early modern period 19th-century English novelists English women novelists English women dramatists and playwrights 19th-century English dramatists and playwrights Writers from London English women non-fiction writers 19th-century English non-fiction writers English women short story writers 19th-century English short story writers English women poets 19th-century English poets