Regency Personalities Series-Jane Taylor
Regency Personalities Series
In my attempts to provide us with the details of the Regency, today I continue with one of the��many period notables.
Jane Taylor
23 September 1783 ��� 13 April 1824
Jane Taylor
Jane Taylor lived with her family at Shilling Grange in Shilling Street, Lavenham, Suffolk,her house can still be seen. Later (1796���1810) she lived in Colchester ��� it is a majority belief between local historians, that the rhyme was written in Colchester ��� although Ongar still makes a claim, both in Essex. The Taylor sisters were part of an extensive literary family. Their father, Isaac Taylor of Ongar, was an engraver and later a dissenting minister. Their mother, Ann Taylor (n��e Martin) (1757���1830), wrote seven works of moral and religious advice, two of them fictionalised.
The poem, Original Poems for Infant Minds by several young persons (i.e. Ann and Jane Taylor and others) was first issued in two volumes in 1804 and 1805. Rhymes for the Nursery followed in 1806, and Hymns for Infant Minds in 1808. In Original Poems for Infant Minds (1805) primarily written by Ann and Jane Taylor and Adelaide O’Keeffe, the authors were identified for each poem, but they were not for Rhymes for the Nursery (1806). The most famous piece in these was “The Star” more commonly known today as “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star”, which was set to a French tune.
Christina Duff Stewart identifies authorship in Rhymes for the Nursery based on a copy belonging to Canon Isaac Taylor, who noted the pieces by Ann and Jane Taylor. Canon Isaac was Taylor’s nephew, a son of her brother Isaac Taylor of Stanford Rivers. Stewart also confirms attributions of Original Poems based on the publisher’s records.
Taylor’s novel Display (1814), reminiscent of Maria Edgeworth or perhaps even Jane Austen, went through at least nine editions up to 1820. Her Essays in Rhyme appeared in 1816, and contained some significant poetry. In the fictional Correspondence between a Mother and Her Daughter at School (1817) Taylor collaborated with her mother. The Family Mansion. A Tale appeared in 1819, and Practical Hints to Young Females previous to 1822. Throughout her life, Taylor wrote many essays, plays, stories, poems, and letters which were never published.
Jane Taylor died of breast cancer at the age of 40, her mind still “teeming with unfulfilled projects”. She was buried in Ongar churchyard.
After her death, her brother Isaac collected many of her works and included a biography of her in The Writings of Jane Taylor, In Five Volumes (1832).
