Jane Octavia Brookfield
Encyclopedia
Jane Octavia Brookfield was a literary hostess and writer, best known for her platonic friendship with William Makepeace Thackeray
, and the four indifferent novels she wrote.
(a former soldier, and a published author who was friends with Charles Lamb
and Samuel Taylor Coleridge
), and the aunt of Charles Isaac Elton
, M.P.
Jane married William Henry Brookfield
(1809–1874), twelve years he senior, on 18 November 1841.
Jane maintained an influential literary salon, which included among others Thackeray
and her husband's old college friend Alfred Tennyson. It was her close friendship with Thackeray for which she is best remembered and in the mid-1840s they were interment terms. D. J. Taylor in here biography in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography states "the relationship between him and Jane was almost certainly not sexual (there may have been a chaste embrace or two ...)". Thackeray incorporated some of her characteristics in to two of his characters: Amelia Sedley in Vanity Fair (1848), and Laura Bell in Pendennis
(1850).
(1853–1940) who became a British army officer, diplomat author and Conservative politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1885 to 1903; and Hallam Elton Brookfield (1857–1913) an actor.
William Makepeace Thackeray
William Makepeace Thackeray was an English novelist of the 19th century. He was famous for his satirical works, particularly Vanity Fair, a panoramic portrait of English society.-Biography:...
, and the four indifferent novels she wrote.
Biography
Jane was the daughter of Sir Charles Abraham EltonCharles Abraham Elton
Sir Charles Abraham Elton, 6th Baronet was an English officer in the British Army and an author.-Life:Charles was eldest of three sons of the Rev. Sir Abraham Elton, 5th of the Elton Baronets, by Elizabeth, daughter of Sir John Durbin, alderman of Bristol, and was born at Bristol on 31 October 1778...
(a former soldier, and a published author who was friends with Charles Lamb
Charles Lamb
Charles Lamb was an English essayist, best known for his Essays of Elia and for the children's book Tales from Shakespeare, which he produced with his sister, Mary Lamb . Lamb has been referred to by E.V...
and Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Samuel Taylor Coleridge was an English poet, Romantic, literary critic and philosopher who, with his friend William Wordsworth, was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake Poets. He is probably best known for his poems The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Kubla...
), and the aunt of Charles Isaac Elton
Charles Isaac Elton
Charles Isaac Elton, QC was an English lawyer, antiquary, and politician.He was born in Southampton. Educated at Cheltenham and Balliol College, Oxford, he was elected a fellow of Queen's College in 1862. He was called to the bar at Lincoln's Inn in 1865...
, M.P.
Jane married William Henry Brookfield
William Henry Brookfield
William Henry Brookfield was an Anglican priest, Inspector of Schools, and chaplain-in-ordinary to Queen Victoria. His son was the playwright Charles Brookfield.-Biography:...
(1809–1874), twelve years he senior, on 18 November 1841.
Jane maintained an influential literary salon, which included among others Thackeray
and her husband's old college friend Alfred Tennyson. It was her close friendship with Thackeray for which she is best remembered and in the mid-1840s they were interment terms. D. J. Taylor in here biography in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography states "the relationship between him and Jane was almost certainly not sexual (there may have been a chaste embrace or two ...)". Thackeray incorporated some of her characteristics in to two of his characters: Amelia Sedley in Vanity Fair (1848), and Laura Bell in Pendennis
Pendennis
Pendennis is a novel by the English author William Makepeace Thackeray. It is set in 19th century England, particularly in London. The main hero is a young English gentleman Arthur Pendennis who is born in the country and sets out for London to seek his place in life and society...
(1850).
Family
The couple were survived by their two sons Arthur Montagu BrookfieldArthur Montagu Brookfield
Arthur Montagu Brookfield was a British army officer, diplomat author and Conservative politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1885 to 1903.-Biography:...
(1853–1940) who became a British army officer, diplomat author and Conservative politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1885 to 1903; and Hallam Elton Brookfield (1857–1913) an actor.