Violet Jacob
Violet Jacob was a Scottish poet and author, born on September 1, 1863, in Angus, Scotland. As the daughter of William Henry Kennedy-Erskine, the eighteenth Laird of Dun, she grew up in a rural setting that influenced her literary voice. Jacob began writing poetry at a young age and published her first work, a comic narrative poem titled *The Bailie McPhee*, in 1891. In 1894, she married Arthur Otway Jacob, a lieutenant in the British Army, and they lived in various locations, including India, where she immersed herself in the local culture and language.
Her writings, particularly her poetry, often reflect her experiences and the landscapes of Scotland, with a notable use of Scots dialect. The loss of her son, Harry, during World War I profoundly impacted her work, leading her to dedicate her poetry collection *More Songs of Angus, and Others* to his memory. Jacob continued to write and publish until her death on September 9, 1946, leaving behind a significant body of work that contributes to the understanding of Scottish literature and Modernism. Although a comprehensive study of her influence is still pending, her diaries and personal writings from her time in India have received critical acclaim.
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Subject Terms
Violet Jacob
Poet
- Born: September 1, 1863
- Birthplace: House of Dun, near Montrose, Scotland
- Died: September 9, 1946
Biography
Violet Augusta Mary Fredericka Kennedy-Erskine was the second of four children of William Henry Kennedy-Erskine, the eighteenth Laird of Dun. She was born on September 1, 1863, in Angus, Scotland. Her mother, Catherine (Jones) Kennedy-Erskine, was from Carmarthenshire, Wales. Although her father died when Violet was seven years old, she later detailed the history of her paternal ancestors in The Lairds of Dun (1931). Kennedy-Erskine was educated at home, where she began writing poetry, spending her early years in rural Montrose; consequently, the speech patterns of that region permeate much of her work. Her first work, The Bailie McPhee (1891), a comic narrative poem, was coauthored with Walter Douglas Campbell and included her illustrations.
In 1894, she married Arthur Otway Jacob, a lieutenant who served in the Twentieth Hussars from Maryborough (now Portlaoighise), Ireland. As a military wife, Violet Jacob accompanied him to his postings, and she gave birth to their only child, Arthur Henry Jacob, known as Harry, during their travels throughout Britain in 1895. For the next four years the family lived in Mhow, in central India, where Violet Jacob studied Hindi and other aspects of the culture, exploring the countryside and volunteering at a military hospital. While her written observations do not question Imperialist policies, her descriptions of British behavior are occasionally unflattering.
Decades later, in 1990, Jacob’s personal writings from their stay in India were published as Diaries and Letters from India, 1895-1900, a work that received critical praise. After leaving India in 1900, however, Jacob and her husband lived in Africa and England before returning to Scotland. During the early 1900’s, Jacob published novels, children’s books, and poetry. Over the next twenty years, she produced a significant body of work, earning a reputation for her natural use of Scots.
In 1916, their son Harry was killed in battle at the Somme during World War I, and Violet Jacob dedicated her third volume of poetry, More Songs of Angus, and Others (1918), to his memory. In her Angus poetry (the first volume was published in 1915), it has been noted that Jacob captures the use of Scots as a living tongue, celebrating the landscapes while acknowledging irretrievable loss. After Arthur’s retirement in 1922, the couple returned to India for a four-month holiday and Jacob again kept diaries of the stay that were later published. When Arthur died in 1937, Jacob returned to Scotland. Before her death on September 9, 1946, she published several more volumes of poetry and a family history. A thorough study of her life, work, and influence on Scottish Modernism is not yet available.