Jane G. Austin
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Jane Goodwin Austin | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Mary Jane Goodwin February 25, 1831 Worcester, Massachusetts |
| Died | March 30, 1894 (aged 63) Boston, Massachusetts |
| Occupation | Author |
| Language | English |
| Nationality | American |
| Genre | Historical fiction |
| Notable works | Betty Alden: the first-born daughter of the Pilgrims[1] |
| Spouse | Henry Austin |
| Children | Rose Standish Austin, Le Baron Loring Austin, Lilian Ivers De Silva |
Jane Goodwin Austin (Feb. 25, 1831 - March 30, 1894), born Mary Jane Goodwin, was an American writer, notable for her popular stories of the time. During her lifetime, she was the author of 24 books and numerous short stories.[2] Her friends throughout her life were some of the most well-known American authors, including Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Louisa May Alcott.[3]
Life
Austin was born on February 25, 1831, in Worcester, Massachusetts, to Isaac Goodwin and Elizabeth Hammatt.[4] Her parents were from Plymouth and could trace eight distinct family lines back to the Pilgrims.[5] Jane's father, a lawyer, antiquary and genealogist, died in 1833, when she was only two. Behind him, he left a large archive of historical and legal documents from the Pilgrims. Her works, mostly historical fiction regarding the lives of the Pilgrims and their descendants, were accurate and reasonable through the impact her father's love of history had had on her.[4] Her brother, John A. Goodwin, had also written a book on the Pilgrims, The Pilgrim Republic. Her mother was a poet and song writer, and told Jane many stories of her ancestors, especially of Francis Le Baron — the nameless nobleman — and his descendants.[5] As a child, she was educated at nine different private schools in Boston.[1]In 1850, she married Loring H. Austin, a classmate of James Russell Lowell. She lived for several years in Cambridge, and afterward in Concord, but her later life was chiefly spent in Boston.[6]
Works
- Fairy Dreams (Boston, 1859)
- Dora Darling (Boston, 1864)
- Outpost: A Novel (1886)
- Cipher: A Romance (New York, 1869)
- The Shadow of Moloch Mountain (1870)
- Mrs. Beauchamp Brown (Boston, 1880)
- A Nameless Nobleman (1881)
- The Desmond Hundred (1882)
- Standish of Standish (1889)
- Dr. Le Baron and his Daughter (1891)
- David Alden's Daughter, and other Stories (1892)
