Jane Barker
Jane Barker was an English poet and novelist born in May 1652 in Blatherwicke, Northamptonshire, into a Royalist family. Educated primarily by her elder brother, who attended Oxford and Leyden, she gained knowledge in Latin, philosophy, and medicine—subjects uncommon for women of her era. Following the deaths of her brother and father, Barker managed the family home and farm while living in London after her mother’s passing in 1685. Her literary debut, "Poetical Recreations," was published in 1688, the same year she converted to Catholicism after following the exiled court of James II to France. Barker returned to England in 1713, where she began publishing novels crafted in the 1680s and during her time in France. Despite facing health challenges, including cataracts that led to functional blindness, she is recognized as one of the early female novelists who maintained her respectability while navigating societal expectations. Her works often depict women making difficult choices between marriage and intellectual pursuits, reflecting her own preference for the latter. The exact details of her later life remain unclear, with her passing recorded around 1727 in either France or England.
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Jane Barker
Writer
- Born: May 1, 1652
- Birthplace: Blatherwicke, Northamptonshire, England
- Died: c. 1727
- Place of death: England or France
Biography
Jane Barker was born into a Royalist family, in May of 1652, at Blatherwicke Northamptonshire. She was baptized in the month of her birth. It was from her elder brother, who attended Oxford and Leyden Universities, that she received most of her education. From him she learned Latin, philosophy, and medicine—all of which were considered unusual studies for a woman of her time. His teaching enabled her to take over the management of the family house and farm after the deaths of both her brother and their father. After her father’s death, Barker and her mother moved to London. Her mother died in London in 1685. She continued to live on the inheritance from her father.
Jane Barker’s collection of poems Poetical Recreations appeared in 1688. In this same year she, followed the exiled court of Roman Catholic monarch James II to France. During this time, not surprisingly, she converted to Catholicism. In 1713, Barker returned to England. Shortly thereafter, publication of the novels that she had been working on in the 1680’s and in France began.
Little more than this is known of Jane Barker’s life. She is said to have developed cataracts and to have become functionally blind. She is said to have had a serious illness in 1726. She may have gone back to France in 1727. No record of Jane Barker’s life after the year1727 has been found.
Jane Barker is said to be one of the first women writers to write novels without losing her respectability. She upheld patriarchal standards of female chastity in both her writing and her life. The women in her novels are forced to choose between marriage and their intellectual pursuits. Barker, herself, seems to have chosen the latter. Poet and novelist Jane Barker died in either France or in England.