Maria Jane Jewsbury
| Maria Jane Jewsbury | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born | 25 October 1800 Measham |
| Died | 4 October 1833 Poona |
| Nationality | British |
Maria Jane Jewsbury or Maria Jane Fletcher (25 October 1800 – 4 October 1833) was an English writer and literary reviewer.
Jewsbury was born in Measham in 1800, then in Derbyshire, now in Leicestershire. She was the daughter of Thomas Jewsbury (died 1840), a cotton manufacturer and merchant, and his wife Maria, née Smith, (died 1819). Her paternal grandfather, Thomas Jewsbury Sr. (died 1799), was an non-professional surveyor of roads, an engineer of canal navigation, and a student of philosophy. Upon his death he left the family four cottages, a warehouse, a piece of land in Measham, and a large sum of money.
Maria Jane Jewsbury was the eldest of the children. Her younger brother Thomas was born in 1802, then Henry in 1803. Geraldine in 1812, Arthur in 1815, and Frank in 1819. Jewsbury attended a school in Shenstone, Staffordshire, but ill health obliged her to leave at the age of 14.
Jewsbury's father worked as the master of a cotton factory. However, the War of 1812 with America hurt the cotton business and the family moved to George Street in Manchester in 1818, after her father's business failed. Geraldine's mother died one month after giving birth to Frank, the youngest of the Jewsbury children. Then 19, Maria took on the mother's role for the household so that her father could keep working. She took care of the children for over twelve years after their mother's death.
While bringing up her brothers and sisters, she read avidly, and began to contribute to the Manchester Gazette in 1821. She wrote letters to her sister in 1828 while Geraldine was in the Misses Darby's school. In one of these Letters to the Young, she wrote about the dangers of fame to Geraldine, who was already aspiring to be a writer. She warned her that fame would bring unhappiness and that the only true happiness to be found was in religion. These letters were written after Maria Jane had a spiritual crisis in 1826, but Geraldine did not take her advice.
Maria Jane's first book was Phantasmagoria; or, Sketches of Life and Literature, which contained poetry and prose and was published in 1825. The book attracted the attention of William Wordsworth and Dorothy. She visited the Wordsworths in Lancashire in July 1825. Another friend was Felicia Hemans, with whom she stayed in Wales in the summer of 1828. Through acquaintance with the editor of the Athenaeum, Charles Wentworth Dilke, she began to write for it in 1830. Against the wishes of her father, she was married on 1 August 1832 to Rev. William Kew Fletcher (died 1867), at Penegoes, Montgomeryshire. The couple set out on the long sea journey to India, where she continued to write poetry en route and a journal. The poetry was published in the Athenaeum and is called The Oceanides.
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