Jane Wells Webb Loudon facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jane Wells Webb Loudon
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| Born | 19 August 1807 Birmingham, United Kingdom |
| Died | 13 July 1858 (aged 50) London, England |
| Occupation | Author |
| Nationality | British |
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| Spouse | John Claudius Loudon |
Jane Wells Webb Loudon (born August 19, 1807 – died July 13, 1858) was an English author. She was a very early pioneer of science fiction, writing stories about future worlds even before the term "science fiction" was commonly used. She also became famous for writing the first popular gardening books. These books made gardening easy to understand for everyone, especially young women. Jane Loudon was married to John Claudius Loudon, a well-known expert in gardening. They sometimes worked on books together, but Jane also wrote many successful books on her own.
Contents
Jane Loudon's Early Life
Jane Webb was born in 1807 in England. When she was young, she traveled in Europe with her father. During this time, she learned several languages. After her father passed away in 1824, when Jane was seventeen, she began writing to support herself.
Jane Loudon achieved great things in her life. First, she explored different cultures and learned many languages. This helped her later in her travels. Second, at age 20, she published a unique fictional book about mummies. This book introduced a new type of story to the world. Third, after marrying John Loudon, she started writing about plants and gardening. She made gardening information easy to understand for everyday people. She even taught herself to be a botanical artist to illustrate her books.
Jane Loudon's Science Fiction: The Mummy!
After her father's death, Jane started writing to earn money. Her first book was a collection of poems called Prose and Verse, published in 1824. Then, she wrote her most famous work, The Mummy! A Tale of the Twenty-Second Century. This book was published in 1827. Jane said she wanted to imagine how much England might improve in the future.
Her book might have been inspired by the public's interest in ancient Egypt at the time. People were excited about Egyptian mummies. She may also have been inspired by Mary Shelley's famous novel, Frankenstein. However, unlike Frankenstein's monster, Jane's revived mummy, named Cheops, is not scary. Instead, he gives wise advice on politics and life to his friends.
The Mummy! was special because it showed a future world with many new technologies and social changes. For example, her characters wear trousers and hair ornaments that glow with controlled flame. She even imagined a kind of early Internet. Jane Loudon's ideas about scientific progress were like predictions for the future. Her book also showed new ideas about women's roles, making it an early example of a feminist novel.
The book received many good reviews when it first came out. People were especially interested in the new inventions she described.
Here are Jane Loudon's main works of poetry and fiction:
- Prose and Verse (1824)
- The Mummy!: Or a Tale of the Twenty-Second Century (1827)
- Stories of a Bride (1829)
- Conversations on Chronology (1830)
Jane Loudon's Gardening Books
After marrying John Claudius Loudon in 1830, Jane changed her focus to writing about gardening and plants. She had no experience in this area before her marriage. She once said she was "completely ignorant" about botany before meeting her husband. Jane helped her husband with his many publications, including his large Encyclopedia of Gardening.
Jane and John traveled together in England and Scotland. She also attended public lectures to learn more about plants. Jane realized that there were no easy-to-understand gardening books for regular people. Most books were too technical. So, she decided to write her own books to make gardening simple and fun for everyone. Her first gardening books were published in 1840.
Jane Loudon wrote many gardening books, often with her own beautiful plant drawings. Her books helped women learn how to create lovely gardens. They also gave women a new activity to enjoy at a time when they had fewer opportunities outside the home.
Here are some of her popular gardening and plant books:
- Young Lady's Book of Botany (1838)
- Gardening for Ladies and Companion to the Flower Garden (1840)
- Ladies' Flower-Garden of Ornamental Annuals (Four volumes 1840 - 1848)
- The Ladies' Flower Garden or Ornamental Bulbous Plants (1841)
- The First Book of Botany … for Schools and Young Persons (1841)
- The Ladies Companion to the Flower Garden (1841)
- Botany for Ladies (1842)
- British Wild Flowers (1845)
- The Lady's Country Companion (1845)
- Amateur Gardener's Calendar (1847)
- The Ladies' Flower-Garden of Ornamental Greenhouse Plants (1848)
- My Own Garden Or, The Young Gardener's Year Book (1855)
Many of these books were very successful. For example, Gardening for Ladies sold 1,350 copies on the very day it was published in 1840! She also started a magazine called The Ladies Magazine of Gardening in 1842.
Jane Loudon as a Botanical Artist
Jane Loudon understood that pictures were very important for teaching people about plants and gardening. Her artistic style grew over time. She often drew flowers grouped together like bouquets. Her drawings were very popular, especially among women. Later, she used a new printing method called chromolithography to make colorful prints for her books.
Jane Loudon's Personal Life
John Claudius Loudon, a gardening expert, read Jane's book The Mummy! and wrote a good review of it. He thought the author was a man, but when he met Jane Webb in 1830, he was surprised! They fell in love and married on September 14, 1830. They lived in London for the rest of their lives.
Jane and John had a daughter named Agnes Loudon (born 1832). Agnes also grew up to become an author of children's books. The Loudons were friends with famous writers like Charles Dickens.
John Loudon passed away in 1843. Jane continued to work hard to support herself and her daughter. She received a special award and a pension (regular payment) for her writing. Jane Loudon died in 1858 at the age of 50. She was buried in Kensal Green Cemetery.
Jane Loudon's Legacy
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Jane Loudon is remembered as an important writer. In 2008, a special blue plaque was put up in her honor at Kitwell Primary School in England. This school is near where she used to live. Another plaque honoring both Jane and John Loudon was placed on their former home in London in 1953. These plaques help people remember their important contributions to literature and gardening.
Images for kids
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Plate from The Ladies' Flower-Garden of Ornamental Annuals (1842)
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John Claudius Loudon
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John and Jane Loudon plaque, Bayswater
See also
In Spanish: Jane Wells Loudon para niños
