Frances Jacson
Encyclopedia
Frances Margaretta Jacson (born 13 October 1754 at Bebington
, Cheshire
, died 17 June 1842 at Somersal Herbert
, Derbyshire
) was an English novelist.
rector
of Bebington, Rev. Simon Jacson (1728–1808), and his wife Anne Fitzherbert (c.1729–1795), daughter of Richard Fitzherbert of Somersal Herbert. Her elder brother Roger succeeded his father as rector, after which the family moved to Stockport
and then Tarporley
, Cheshire
, where her father became rector. She and her sister Maria Elizabetha Jacson (1755–1829) remained single, and looked after their father after he was widowed in 1795.
While they were at Tarporley, the family became worried about Frances's other brother Shallcross (d. 1821), also an ordained priest, who had taken to drink and horse-racing. The need to pay off his debts was the spur for the sisters to turn to writing. Frances completed two successful novels. On their father's death in 1808, they had to find a new home and accepted an offer made by their cousin Lord St Helens
to lend them Somersal Hall
for life. Shallcross's problems resurfaced, with debts totalling £1760. Francis paid these off with her earnings from two further novels and with help from Roger and Maria.
She was desolated by the death of her sister in 1829, but eventually resumed her social life among the county gentry and her extended family. Her favourite nephew Henry Gally Knight
(a Tory) kept her in touch with politics, in which she was a firm Whig and supporter of parliamentary reform
. She also remained a firm Christian.
Things by their Right Names (London: George Robinson, 1812; second e. "by the author of Plain Sense: London: G. & S. Robinson; Gale, Curtis & Fenner, 1814) was followed by Rhoda. A Novel ("By the author of Things by their Right Names. London: Henry Colburn
& Co., 1816 [two eds]), for which she turned to one of the foremost London novel publishers. It is considered "the more accomplished" of the two. The second pair of novels were wrongly ascribed to the Scots Mary Brunton
. Jacson's authorship was not suggested until 1823. There were further false attributions in the early twentieth century to Alethea Lewis
.
Despite the financial motives behind her writing activity, Jacson never abandoned her moral purpose, so that her novels are didactic
, all featuring a heroine in relatively high society. Through them she shows strong creative insight, especially into burgeoning relationships and marriage. In most cases her heroines discern flaws in the perceptions of themselves and others. There is much irony in the portrayal of several minor characters. Rhoda was preferred to Jane Austen's Emma
by Maria Edgeworth
, from whom the Jacson sisters received a social call in 1818. It was also recommended by Sydney Smith
. Isabella ("By the author of Rhoda": London: Henry Colburn & Co., 1823) was written in a calmer period of Jacson's life. The "self-righteous loquacity" of Mrs. Nesbit has been compared to Mrs. Norris in Jane Austen
's Mansfield Park
. The French translation of this by Mme Collet in 1823, Isabelle Hastings, was wrongly ascribed to William Godwin
. Even her diaries, kept from 1829 until her death, were thought for a time to be her brother's.
Jacson is also known to have written one religious pamphlet, Every Day Christianity (1816).
Bebington
Bebington is a small town and electoral ward within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, in Merseyside, England. It lies south of Liverpool and west southwest of Manchester, along the River Mersey on the eastern side of the Wirral Peninsula...
, Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
, died 17 June 1842 at Somersal Herbert
Somersal Herbert
Somersal Herbert is a hamlet in Derbyshire, England. It is located 2 miles north-east of Doveridge. Somersal Herbert Hall was built c.1564, incorporating an earlier building from c.1500. Hill Somersal and Potter Somersal are minor settlements within 1 mile....
, Derbyshire
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
) was an English novelist.
Family commitments
Frances Jacson was one of five surviving children of the AnglicanAnglicanism
Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...
rector
Anglican ministry
The Anglican ministry is both the leadership and agency of Christian service in the Anglican Communion. "Ministry" commonly refers to the office of ordained clergy: the threefold order of bishops, priests and deacons. More accurately, Anglican ministry includes many laypeople who devote themselves...
of Bebington, Rev. Simon Jacson (1728–1808), and his wife Anne Fitzherbert (c.1729–1795), daughter of Richard Fitzherbert of Somersal Herbert. Her elder brother Roger succeeded his father as rector, after which the family moved to Stockport
Stockport
Stockport is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on elevated ground southeast of Manchester city centre, at the point where the rivers Goyt and Tame join and create the River Mersey. Stockport is the largest settlement in the metropolitan borough of the same name...
and then Tarporley
Tarporley
Tarporley is a large village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England....
, Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
, where her father became rector. She and her sister Maria Elizabetha Jacson (1755–1829) remained single, and looked after their father after he was widowed in 1795.
While they were at Tarporley, the family became worried about Frances's other brother Shallcross (d. 1821), also an ordained priest, who had taken to drink and horse-racing. The need to pay off his debts was the spur for the sisters to turn to writing. Frances completed two successful novels. On their father's death in 1808, they had to find a new home and accepted an offer made by their cousin Lord St Helens
Alleyne Fitzherbert, 1st Baron St Helens
Alleyne FitzHerbert, 1st Baron St Helens PC was a British diplomat and a friend of explorer George Vancouver, who named Mount St...
to lend them Somersal Hall
Somersal Herbert Hall
Somersal Herbert Hall is a privately owned timber framed 16th century country house at Somersal Herbert, near Ashbourne, Derbyshire, in England...
for life. Shallcross's problems resurfaced, with debts totalling £1760. Francis paid these off with her earnings from two further novels and with help from Roger and Maria.
She was desolated by the death of her sister in 1829, but eventually resumed her social life among the county gentry and her extended family. Her favourite nephew Henry Gally Knight
Henry Gally Knight
Henry Gally Knight, FRS was an English M.P., traveller and writer.Henry Gally Knight was a country gentleman of Yorkshire, educated at Eton and Trinity Hall, Cambridge. He was the author of several Oriental tales, Ilderim, a Syrian Tale , Phrosyne, a Grecian Tale, and Alashtar, an Arabian Tale...
(a Tory) kept her in touch with politics, in which she was a firm Whig and supporter of parliamentary reform
Reform Act 1832
The Representation of the People Act 1832 was an Act of Parliament that introduced wide-ranging changes to the electoral system of England and Wales...
. She also remained a firm Christian.
Publications
Jacson's first novel, Plain Sense (1795; second e.: London: William Lane at the Minerva-Press, 1796; third e. 1799) was immediately popular and followed by a second, Disobedience (London: William Lane at the Minerva Press, 1797). These and her subsequent novels appeared anonymously.Things by their Right Names (London: George Robinson, 1812; second e. "by the author of Plain Sense: London: G. & S. Robinson; Gale, Curtis & Fenner, 1814) was followed by Rhoda. A Novel ("By the author of Things by their Right Names. London: Henry Colburn
Henry Colburn
Henry Colburn , British publisher, obtained his earliest experience of book-selling in London at the establishment of W...
& Co., 1816 [two eds]), for which she turned to one of the foremost London novel publishers. It is considered "the more accomplished" of the two. The second pair of novels were wrongly ascribed to the Scots Mary Brunton
Mary Brunton
Mary Brunton was a Scottish novelist.-Life:Mary was the daughter of Colonel Thomas Balfour of Elwick, a British Army officer and Frances Ligonier, daughter of Colonel Francis Ligonier and sister of the second earl of Ligonier. She was born on 1 November 1778 on Burray in the Orkney Islands...
. Jacson's authorship was not suggested until 1823. There were further false attributions in the early twentieth century to Alethea Lewis
Alethea Lewis
Alethea Lewis was an English novelist, born at Acton, near Nantwich, Cheshire. Her father was the Reverend James Brereton. Althea was two years old when her mother died, and her father sent her away to live with her maternal grandfather...
.
Despite the financial motives behind her writing activity, Jacson never abandoned her moral purpose, so that her novels are didactic
Didacticism
Didacticism is an artistic philosophy that emphasizes instructional and informative qualities in literature and other types of art. The term has its origin in the Ancient Greek word διδακτικός , "related to education/teaching." Originally, signifying learning in a fascinating and intriguing...
, all featuring a heroine in relatively high society. Through them she shows strong creative insight, especially into burgeoning relationships and marriage. In most cases her heroines discern flaws in the perceptions of themselves and others. There is much irony in the portrayal of several minor characters. Rhoda was preferred to Jane Austen's Emma
Emma
Emma, by Jane Austen, is a novel about the perils of misconstrued romance. The novel was first published in December 1815. As in her other novels, Austen explores the concerns and difficulties of genteel women living in Georgian-Regency England; she also creates a lively 'comedy of manners' among...
by Maria Edgeworth
Maria Edgeworth
Maria Edgeworth was a prolific Anglo-Irish writer of adults' and children's literature. She was one of the first realist writers in children's literature and was a significant figure in the evolution of the novel in Europe...
, from whom the Jacson sisters received a social call in 1818. It was also recommended by Sydney Smith
Sydney Smith
Sydney Smith was an English writer and Anglican cleric. -Life:Born in Woodford, Essex, England, Smith was the son of merchant Robert Smith and Maria Olier , who suffered from epilepsy...
. Isabella ("By the author of Rhoda": London: Henry Colburn & Co., 1823) was written in a calmer period of Jacson's life. The "self-righteous loquacity" of Mrs. Nesbit has been compared to Mrs. Norris in Jane Austen
Jane Austen
Jane Austen was an English novelist whose works of romantic fiction, set among the landed gentry, earned her a place as one of the most widely read writers in English literature, her realism and biting social commentary cementing her historical importance among scholars and critics.Austen lived...
's Mansfield Park
Mansfield Park
Mansfield Park may mean:* Mansfield Park by Jane Austen* Mansfield Park , based on the novel, directed by Patricia Rozema, starring Frances O'Connor, Embeth Davidtz, and Sheila Gish in 1999...
. The French translation of this by Mme Collet in 1823, Isabelle Hastings, was wrongly ascribed to William Godwin
William Godwin
William Godwin was an English journalist, political philosopher and novelist. He is considered one of the first exponents of utilitarianism, and the first modern proponent of anarchism...
. Even her diaries, kept from 1829 until her death, were thought for a time to be her brother's.
Jacson is also known to have written one religious pamphlet, Every Day Christianity (1816).
External sources
- Chawton House Library: Isabella online http://www.chawtonhouse.org/library/novels/jacson_isabella.html; Things by their Right Names online http://www.chawtonhouse.org/library/novels/jacson_things.html. Both retrieved 19 November 2010.
- Orlando Project: Retrieved 19 November 2010. Subscription required for most information.
- ODNB biography: Retrieved 19 November 2010. Subscription required.
- Percy, Joan. "An Unrecognized Novelist: Frances Jacson (1754-1842)." The British Library Journal 23.1 (1997): 81-97. Reproduces an 1814 water colour portrait of Frances Jacson.