Penelope Aubin
Penelope Aubin was an early eighteenth-century British novelist, born in London around 1685 to a family with possible Huguenot and Roman Catholic roots. Much of what is known about her life comes from the writings of fellow novelist Abbé Antoine François Prévost d'Exiles. Aubin began her literary career with political poems in 1707 and 1708 and published her first novel in 1721 after a hiatus likely spent managing family obligations. Following her husband's death before 1722, she turned to writing as a means of financial support. Aubin was also active as an editor and translator, and in 1729, she held paid lectures on moral virtues. Her novels garnered popularity for their adventurous plots, featuring heroines who faced and overcame significant challenges, reflecting the influences of French fiction and the adventure narratives of Daniel Defoe. Despite not receiving extensive critical attention, Aubin's work holds a notable place in literary history, influencing later writers, particularly Samuel Richardson, who built upon her formula of the virtuous heroine. Aubin's prolific output continued until her death around 1731, marking her as a significant figure in the evolution of the English novel.
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Penelope Aubin
- Born: 1685
- Birthplace: London, England
- Died: 1731
Biography
Little is known about the life of early eighteenth century British novelist Penelope Aubin. Almost all the information surviving about her comes from a portrait in Le pour et le contre, ouvrage periodique d’un goût nouveau by the Abbé Antoine François Prévost d’Exiles, a fellow novelist. Aubin was born in London by 1685. Her father, according to Prévost, was an impoverished French officer. Critics have speculated from details of her novels that she may have been Roman Catholic. Possibly parts of the family were Huguenot, a group of French Protestants of the time. Many of her novels’ heroines have French Catholic fathers and Huguenot or British Protestant mothers. The family moved to England around 1685, a time when many Huguenots emigrated.
Aubin began her literary career with the publication of three political poems in 1707 and 1708. She is also believed to have written some anonymous pamphlets at that time. No further work appeared until the publication of her first novel in 1721. One book is dedicated to her husband, so critics have speculated that she spent the years between her publications involved with family commitments. Her husband is believed to have died before 1722, and scholars have speculated that Aubin, like many women novelists of the time, turned to writing because she needed money.
Aubin also worked as an editor and translated several books from French to English. In 1729, she earned money as an orator, charging admission for lectures, apparently on moral virtues. Aubin’s novels were quite popular during their time, although Prévost suggests that she had some financial difficulties towards the end of her life.
The novels’ heroines overcome dramatic obstacles with great virtue to be reunited with their true loves. Aubin’s fiction shows the influences of French fiction of the time and of the highly popular adventure stories of Daniel Defoe. Each is told in a series of short episodes; plot elements include shipwrecks and slavery. From the time she began writing novels, Aubin was extremely prolific until her death around 1731.
Aubin’s work has not received extensive critical attention. While its artistic merit is dubious, its place in literary history is significant. Writing at the time when the novel was evolving into the predominant literary form in English, Aubin developed a formula and a heroine type that would influence more significant writers who followed, especially Samuel Richardson. Critics have noted that Richardson’s Pamela (1740), published a year after the collected edition of Aubin’s work was released, perfects the formula of the virtuous young heroine forced to overcome tremendous obstacles.