Jane Welsh Carlyle
Jane Welsh Carlyle, born on July 14, 1801, in Haddington, Scotland, was an influential figure in the literary world as both a writer and the wife of the renowned historian and essayist, Thomas Carlyle. She was the only daughter of Dr. John Welsh and claimed descent from notable historical figures, such as John Knox and William Wallace, although these claims may have been exaggerated. Educated by Edward Irving, she developed a strong intellectual foundation that led her to correspond with Thomas Carlyle after being introduced to him in 1821. They married in 1826, but their marriage was marked by challenges, including financial struggles and personal complications.
Despite their difficulties, Jane emerged as a significant social figure in her husband’s literary career, mingling with prominent personalities of her time. However, her life was not without heartache, particularly due to Thomas's close relationship with Lady Harriet Baring, which caused her distress. Jane passed away suddenly on April 21, 1866, leaving a legacy as a gifted writer and letter-writer. Following her death, Thomas Carlyle acknowledged her struggles and contributions by eulogizing her and arranging for the posthumous publication of her works, which celebrated her literary talent and candidness.
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Subject Terms
Jane Welsh Carlyle
Writer
- Born: July 14, 1801
- Birthplace: Haddington, near Edinburgh, Scotland
- Died: April 21, 1866
- Place of death: London, England
Biography
Jane Baillie Welsh was born on July 14, 1801, the only daughter of Dr. John Welsh, a physician of Haddington. Welsh claimed descent from John Knox and the Baillie family, whose name Jane was given in honor of her grandmother, who claimed descent from William Wallace. Both pretensions were probably fanciful. Jane was tutored by Edward Irving before attending a school in Edinburgh. She kept in touch with Irving and appears to have been deeply disappointed when he became engaged to someone nearer his own age.
John Welsh died in 1819, leaving Jane the sole heiress of the estate of Craigenputtock in Nithsdale, sixteen miles from Dumfries, but she continued living with her mother in Haddington. Irving introduced her to Thomas Carlyle in 1821, and the two became eager correspondents on literary matters, even attempting to write a novel in collaboration. After considerable pressure, she agreed to marry him. The two were married on October 17, 1826, at her grandfather’s residence, Templand in Dumfriesshire. They never had any children, and the rumour long persisted—in the absence of any evidence—that the marriage was never consummated.
The Carlyles first set up residence in Edinburgh, but Thomas’s attempts to earn a living with his pen were unsuccessful. In May, 1828, they moved to Craigenputtock—which he thought very dreary—and six years of melancholy solitude and household drudgery followed as Thomas scraped together a living. They fared little better when they first moved to London, establishing themselves in Cheyne Row in 1834, although Jane now became a considerable social asset to her husband; her fervent admirers included Erasmus Darwin and the luckless John Sterling, and Thomas once sent a lock of her hair to J. W. Goethe. The Carlyles finally escaped from poverty in 1840, their fortunes being further boosted by a legacy from Jane’s mother in 1842, but Jane was subsequently devastated by Thomas’s infatuation with Lady Harriet Baring—later Lady Ashburton—at whose house he spent increasing amounts of time, usually leaving her behind.
Jane expressed her misery in 1852 in a short story, “The Simple Story of My Own First Love,” which was not published until many years after her death, but her letters were more stoic, and she expressed sincere concern when Lady Ashburton died in 1857. She enjoyed a famous dinner with Charles Dickens, John Forster, and others to celebrate Thomas’s completion of Frederick, but she died suddenly of a heart attack shortly thereafter, on April 21, 1866, while driving in Hyde Park. Thomas then read her journals, and was apparently mortified to discover how much misery his bad temper and neglect had caused her. He attempted to make amends by eulogizing her in his Reminiscences and making preliminary arrangements for the publication of The Letters and Memorials of Jane Welsh Carlyle, although they did not appear until he was dead. They established her, belatedly, as a fine writer in her own right and one of the most infallibly gracious, yet revealingly honest, letter writers of her era.