Elizabeth Purbeck and Jane Purbeck facts for kids
Elizabeth Purbeck and Jane Purbeck were English sisters. They were also writers during the time of Romanticism. Together, they published six novels between 1789 and 1802.
Contents
About Their Lives
Elizabeth was born in 1746. Jane's birth year is not known. They were two of four daughters born to William Purbeck and Elizabeth Kingsman. Their other sisters were Sarah (Sally) and Margaretta (Peggy).
Their father, William Purbeck, was the Mayor of Southampton around 1763. The sisters stayed in Southampton after their parents passed away. They also lived in Bath for some time. None of the sisters ever married. They lived together for their whole lives.
Their Writing Work
The Purbeck sisters were part of writing groups in Southampton and Bath. They knew other famous writers like Sophia Lee. They also met Hester Thrale Piozzi in Bath. They even helped other writers, like Eliza Parsons, get their books published by asking people to subscribe.
Their first novel was Honoria Sommerville (1789). This book tells the story of a main female character's journey. It received good reviews. Their third novel, William Thornborough, the benevolent Quixote (1791), looked at what makes a good man. It was inspired by Samuel Richardson's book Sir Charles Grandison.
Novels Told Through Letters
Like Richardson, who made stories told through letters popular, three of the Purbecks' novels were written this way. These are called epistolary novels. They include Raynsford Park (1790), Matilda and Elizabeth (1796), and Neville Castle (1802). These three books did not get very good reviews. This might be because readers were tired of stories told through letters by the end of the 1700s. In Neville Castle, their last novel, they even talked about other writers of their time. They liked Frances Burney and Sophia Lee more than Richardson and Henry Fielding.
Publishing Their Books
None of the Purbeck sisters' novels were published with their real names on them. They were either published without any author name, or later, as "by the author of ...".
Their fifth novel was The history of Sir George Warrington; or the political Quixote (1797). When it first came out, their new publisher, John Bell, made a mistake. He was a tricky publisher. He wrongly said the book was by a more famous writer, Charlotte Lennox. Lennox wrote the popular book The Female Quixote. The Purbeck sisters' third novel actually had "the benevolent Quixote" in its subtitle. The mistake was fixed in the second edition of the book.
The sixth and final novel by the Purbeck sisters was Neville Castle; or, The Generous Cambrians (1802). Some people think Jane Purbeck wrote this book by herself. It might have been published after Elizabeth Purbeck passed away. However, others believe the novel was written much earlier than its actual publication date.
Where to Read Their Books Online
- Honoria Sommerville (1789). You can read a copy of this book as a PDF from Chawton House.
- Raynsford Park (1790). You can find the first volume on Google Books: Vol. 1.
