Jane Collier facts for kids

Jane Collier (born 1714, died 1755) was an English writer. She is most famous for her book An Essay on the Art of Ingeniously Tormenting (1753). She also worked with another writer, Sarah Fielding, on her only other book that we know of, The Cry (1754).

About Jane Collier

Early Life and Education

Jane Collier was born in 1714 in Wiltshire, England. Her father, Arthur Collier, was a philosopher and clergyman, and her mother was Margaret Johnson. Jane had two brothers and one sister.

In 1716, her family had to move to a cheaper home in Salisbury because of money problems. There, her brother Arthur, who was studying law, taught Jane and her sisters. He also taught their childhood friend, Sarah Fielding. He taught them Greek and Latin languages and literature. He wanted them to be ready to become governesses, which were private teachers for children in wealthy families.

Life as a Writer

In 1732, Jane's father died. Jane was 17, and her sister Margaret was 15. They were left without anyone to support them. In 1748, the sisters moved in with their brother Arthur in London.

A year later, in 1749, their mother died. After this, Jane and Margaret stopped living with their brother. Margaret became a governess for the daughters of writer Henry Fielding. Jane went to live with another famous writer, Samuel Richardson. Richardson was very impressed by Jane's education. He wrote that Jane showed how women could learn Latin and Greek and still be good at their home duties.

Jane Collier never married. This might have been because she didn't have enough money or property to bring into a marriage. Or, like Sarah Fielding, she might have wanted to earn her own living through writing.

In 1748, Samuel Richardson helped Jane and Sarah Fielding work together on their writing. In 1753, Jane wrote The Art of Ingeniously Tormenting. Sarah Fielding helped her, and maybe James Harris or Samuel Richardson did too. Richardson then printed the book. Her last book, The Cry, was written with Sarah Fielding and published in 1754.

Jane Collier died in London in March 1755, just one year after The Cry was published. After she died, Richardson wrote to Sarah Fielding, saying he missed Jane very much. Before she died, Jane had planned a follow-up book to The Cry, which she called The Laugh.

Her Writing Style

Jane Collier's book The Art of Ingeniously Tormenting is known as a great example of social satire written by a woman in the 1700s. Satire is a type of writing that uses humor or exaggeration to criticize people's foolishness or bad habits.

Jane Collier was one of many female writers in the 1700s who explored new ideas. They wrote about different ways people could get along and how to make society better.

Henry Fielding, another famous writer, admired Jane Collier's style, humor, and knowledge of classical texts. He even wrote a special note to her in one of his books. He praised her understanding and her good qualities. This was one of the last things Fielding wrote before he traveled to Lisbon, where he died two months later.

Her Books

• An Essay on the Art of Ingeniously Tormenting (1753). This book is a social satire. It was first published without the author's name and sold very well. It was printed ten times between 1753 and 1811.
• The Cry: A New Dramatic Fable (1754). Jane Collier wrote this book with Sarah Fielding. It is a complex story about how the main characters struggle against mean and gossiping people in society.