Lucy Aikin
| Lucy Aikin | |
|---|---|
| Born |
6 November 1781 Warrington, England |
| Died | 29 January 1864 (aged 82) Hampstead, England, |
| Nationality | English |
| Occupation | author |
Lucy Aikin (6 November 1781 – 29 January 1864) was an English historical writer. She also published under the pseudonym Mary Godolphin.
Lucy Aikin was born at Warrington, England, into a distinguished literary family of prominent Unitarians. They were also a family of writers, the most well known of whom was her paternal aunt, Anna Laetitia Barbauld, a woman of letters who wrote poetry and essays as well as early children's literature. Lucy's father, Dr. John Aikin, was a medical doctor, historian, and author. Her grandfather, also called John Aikin (1713–1780), was a Unitarian scholar and theological tutor, closely associated with Warrington Academy. Lucy's brother was Arthur Aikin (1773–1854), chemist, mineralogist and scientific writer; their brother Charles Rochemont (1775–1847) was adopted by their famous aunt and brought up as their cousin; he became a doctor and chemist.
Lucy was educated by her father and her aunt, an early critic of the education system. She "read widely in English, French, Italian, and Latin literature and history", and began writing for magazines at the age of seventeen, and at an early age assisted her father as an editor in his writings as well.
Aikin was interested in early education, and as such published several works to assist young readers: Poetry for Children: Consisting of Short Pieces to be Committed to Memory (1801), Juvenile Correspondence or Letters, Designed as Examples of the Epistolary Style, for Children of Both Sexes (1811), An English Lesson Book, for the Junior Classes (1828), and The Acts of Life: of Providing Food, of Providing Clothing, of Providing Shelter (1858).
Aikin also was responsible for translating the French texts: Louis Francois Jauffret’s The Travels of Rolando (publication appears to be around 1804), and Jean Gaspard Hess’s The Life of Ulrich Zwingli (1812), a life of the leader of the Reformation in Switzerland. She also was responsible for two creative works: Epistles on Women, Exemplifying their Character and Condition in Various Ages and Nations, with Miscellaneous Poems (1810), and her only work of fiction, Lorimer, a Tale (1814). She also was well-remembered for her biographical works: Memoir of John Aikin, MD (1823), The Works of Anna Laetita Barbauld (1825), The Life of Anne Boleyn (1827), and The Life of Joseph Addison (1843).
...
Wikipedia