The
Family Pen
“A pen which has been moist with
ink – ink destined for the eye of the compositor – has been passing from hand
to hand, within the circuit of a family – it is now more than eighty years.” – Isaac Taylor, The Family Pen
Ann Taylor was born on 30 January
1782 in Islington, a neighbourhood in Inner London. She was the first-born of Reverend
Isaac and Ann Taylor’s eleven children, only six of which survived beyond
infancy (three girls: Ann, Jane, and Jemima, and three boys: Isaac, Martin, and
Jefferys). The following year, Jane was born on 23 September 1783. In 1786 the
Taylor family relocated to Lavenham, Suffolk, and it was here that their father
painted the portrait of Ann and Jane that now hangs in London’s National
Portrait Gallery (it is entitled “The Taylor Family”, as the rest of the family
can be minutely seen in the background). Perhaps foretelling their future as
writing partners, the painting is meant to capture Ann and Jane in the garden performing
lines of their own authorship.
It was also in Lavenham that the Taylor children began to be educated at home by their parents. Both notably learned in their own rights, their parents developed an intense system for schooling the children, each parent playing a pivotal role in their education: while their father taught them science, history, art, and geography, their mother taught them to read, even using mealtimes to read to the children. As their brother, the junior Isaac Taylor, expresses in The Family Pen: Memorials Biographical and Literary, of the Taylor Family of Ongar, education was an ongoing everyday occurrence in their household, occupying the family at “all hours of the day, from early to late, by everybody therein resident. […] Assiduity was the tone and style of the house.” (15) As a result, all children – boys and girls alike – received a fairly comprehensive education from their parents, and “certain branches of knowledge that are quite remote from the range of ordinary education were in fact made familiar to all of this family,” (17). Ironically however, though their parents often wrote themselves (in fact, Ann Taylor Sr. had her works published before her children did), Ann and Jane “were not actually prohibited – yet were never encouraged” (17) to pursue this profession. As Isaac claims, their father preferred “sober information” (18) while their mother enjoyed books but not composition, disliking female writers such as Mary Wollstonecraft whose A Vindication of the Rights of Men (1790) and A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792) were published when Ann and Jane were not yet teenagers. In spite of this, the sisters continued writing and in 1798 they formed their own literary circle, The Umbelliferous Society, in which they and other girls from Colchester (the family relocated here in 1796) wrote new poetry and prose every month. This same year, Ann’s first piece was published in the periodical, Minor’s Pocket Book, followed by Jane’s first published poem, “The Beggar Boy”, in 1804.
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| "The Taylor Family", by Isaac Taylor (1792) |
It was also in Lavenham that the Taylor children began to be educated at home by their parents. Both notably learned in their own rights, their parents developed an intense system for schooling the children, each parent playing a pivotal role in their education: while their father taught them science, history, art, and geography, their mother taught them to read, even using mealtimes to read to the children. As their brother, the junior Isaac Taylor, expresses in The Family Pen: Memorials Biographical and Literary, of the Taylor Family of Ongar, education was an ongoing everyday occurrence in their household, occupying the family at “all hours of the day, from early to late, by everybody therein resident. […] Assiduity was the tone and style of the house.” (15) As a result, all children – boys and girls alike – received a fairly comprehensive education from their parents, and “certain branches of knowledge that are quite remote from the range of ordinary education were in fact made familiar to all of this family,” (17). Ironically however, though their parents often wrote themselves (in fact, Ann Taylor Sr. had her works published before her children did), Ann and Jane “were not actually prohibited – yet were never encouraged” (17) to pursue this profession. As Isaac claims, their father preferred “sober information” (18) while their mother enjoyed books but not composition, disliking female writers such as Mary Wollstonecraft whose A Vindication of the Rights of Men (1790) and A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792) were published when Ann and Jane were not yet teenagers. In spite of this, the sisters continued writing and in 1798 they formed their own literary circle, The Umbelliferous Society, in which they and other girls from Colchester (the family relocated here in 1796) wrote new poetry and prose every month. This same year, Ann’s first piece was published in the periodical, Minor’s Pocket Book, followed by Jane’s first published poem, “The Beggar Boy”, in 1804.
In 1803, the Taylor family was
approached by the publishers Darton & Harvey (Appendix G). While they published
anti-slavery literature, Darton & Harvey were most well-known for their
children’s books and were drawn to the didactic nature of Jane and Ann's writing, which they had seen in Minor's Pocket Book.
They asked Jane and Ann, along with Adelaide O’Keefe, Bernard Barton, Isaac
Taylor Sr., and Isaac Taylor Jr., to contribute their writing to Original Poems for Infant Minds. Although it was a compilation, the majority of the poems –
published as two volumes between 1804 and 1805 – were written by the sisters. Original Poems for Infant Minds became instantly popular,
and led to Ann and Jane publishing Rhymes
for the Nursery in 1806 and Hymns for
Infant Minds in 1810. Though they also wrote in other literary styles besides
children’s poetry, it was Jane and Ann's distinct blend of wit, humour and morality that
made them so successful as poets, perhaps due in part to their parents. While their
mother held a disdain for “any pursuit that could not plead on its behalf a
direct and intelligible utility”
(The Family Pen 18), their father used his talents as a preacher and educator to conduct
lectures and write books “of a religious and improving nature,” (Taylor Gilbert) for youth. As such, rather than compose trivial pieces of prose for
children, as had been popular up until their time, Ann and Jane instead created
works that were both pleasurable and helpful. Furthermore, as Isaac states,
because of her deep religious beliefs Jane felt “an enhanced sense of
responsibility in the use of any gift or talent that may be employed in
promoting the welfare of those around us,” (The Family Pen 25); it was not good enough
– Christian enough – for her to
simply write children’s books that did not actually improve children. This is
seen through several key themes/issues that are recurrently addressed
throughout Jane and Ann’s most popular poems, ranging from Original Poems for Infant Minds to Rhymes for
the Nursery and Hymns for Infant
Minds. Moreover, many of these issues are innovatively presented in the Taylors’ poetry
from the perspective of a child rather than an adult, eliminating the ‘preaching’
or ‘teaching’ effect of children’s poetry written by many of their
contemporaries.
Poverty
As Paula R.
Feldman states in British Women Poets of
the Romantic Era: An Anthology, Ann and Jane Taylor “wrote about and for
real, not mythologized or sentimentalized, children, who speak the language of
the common child and, like real children, are capable of thoughtlessness, even
cruelty.” (734) Despite writing many comical, playful poems, the sisters
likewise produced poems aimed at these very ‘real’ children, refusing to shy
away from themes that might seem harsh or uncomfortably realistic for other
writers of children’s poetry and prose. One such theme was poverty, which was
an overwhelming problem in Britain at the time that Jane and Ann were first
writing poetry for Original Poems for Infant Minds. It
is estimated that by 1803 nearly 50% of Britain’s country populations were supported
solely by the relief system, with numbers even higher in towns (King 141), and this
was only worsened with the onset of the Regency Period in 1811. Jane’s poem “Poverty”,
in which she describes looking upon a poor family in their disheveled home, not only exposes
children to the plights of the poor but also teaches them to appreciate all
that they have. She writes, “let the wealthy and gay, / But see such a hovel as
this, / That in a poor cottage of clay, / They may learn what real misery is. /
And the little that I have to spare, / I will never squander away.” (17-22) Furthermore, “The Old Beggar Man” in Rhymes for the Nursery,
as well as “Crazy Robert” and “The Poor Old Man” in Original Poems document not only the value in the poor, but serve
as warnings for children to obey their parents so that they do not become like
these destitute, pitiable men.
Nature
& Animals
“Animals
are the first objects which catch their attention; and I think little stories
about them would not only amuse but instruct at the same time.” – Mary
Wollstonecraft, Thoughts on the Education of Daughters
Despite their
mother’s disdain for Wollstonecraft, many of Jane and Ann’s poems in Original Poems for Infant Minds, Rhymes for the Nursery, and Hymns
for the Infant Mind reflect the above quotation, as they centre on teaching
children about the proper treatment of animals and nature. Unlike similar nature
poetry for children (i.e. Robert Burns’ “To a Mouse”; Adelaide O’Keefe’s “To George, Pulling Buds”), Jane and Ann’s poems are often from the perspective of
a creature that has been injured by a child, thus teaching children from an
early age about the interconnectedness of nature – just as a child feels pain,
so do animals, flowers, etc. though they cannot voice it as humans can. In
trying to improve children, the Taylors instead act as this voice for animals
and nature, though many of their animal-based poems are surprisingly harsh and
violent. “The Last Dying Speech and Confession of Poor Puss”, “The Little Bird’s Complaint to his Mistress”, “The True History of a Poor Little Mouse”, “The Cruel Boy and the Kittens”, “Little Birds and Cruel Boys”: these poems, among others, all feature animals which have been
cruelly harmed or killed by children. As previously stated, Ann and Jane (who
were not mothers at the time of writing these poems) did not idealise children
when writing about them – they understood that normal children could be wont to
exhibit cruelty to other people and creatures, particularly those smaller than
them. Because of this, their numerous poems about the harmful effects of animal
cruelty further illustrate their efforts to establish a foundation of kindness
within children, teaching them to consider all of God’s creatures equally.
Death,
Aging, & Disability
Finally, many of
Jane and Ann’s poems – particularly those in Hymns for Infant Minds – expose children to the ever-present
realities of illness, disability, and death. As the oldest children in the
Taylor family, both sisters experienced the deaths of five of their younger siblings
and likely would have had a lot of experience with death, with a particular
understanding of its impact on children. Their brother Jefferys was also born
lame, as evidenced in Ann’s poem “The Crippled Child’s Complaint”, which
appeared in Minor’s Pocket Book. In Original Poems for Infant Minds, the
poem “Deaf Martha” asks children to be kind to those with disabilities as these
people have “a disorder that nothing can cure.” (16) With religious undertones,
they also ask children to consider that when they “themselves are grown old /
And one may be deaf, and another be lame, / Perhaps they may find that some
children, as bold, / May tease them, and mock them, and serve them the same,” (17-20)
concluding with a message from the bible: “‘what a man soweth, the same shall
he reap.’” In this way, the poet almost threatens children to consider that God
is watching them, and may also bring them sickness and disability as punishment
for their cruelty. Hymns for Infant Minds
features a succession of poems about illness and death, primarily the deaths of
children: “About Dying”, “A Child’s Grave”, “For a Very Little Child inSickness”, and “For a Dying Child” (among others). “About Dying” exemplifies
Anna Barbauld’s influence on Ann and Jane, as they have borrowed the
conversational style found in her children’s prose. Here, a child converses
with its mother about the loss of a sibling, illustrating childhood confusion
surrounding death. The child states “[t]ell me, Mamma, if I must die […] / Shall
I leave dear Papa and you, / And never see you any more; / Tell me, Mamma, if
this is true; / I did not know it was before.” (1; 5-8) The mother replies
honestly about what happens to the body when we die, while teaching the child
that the soul lives on and that is why it is important to be good, as “wicked
people go to hell.” (28) This poem, among others in Hymns for Infant Minds, shows children (in a potentially ominous,
threatening way) why they must listen to the morals in these poems, suggesting
that children get sick and die all the time whether the young reader realises
it or not, so you must always be good to ensure that you will be admitted to
heaven if you are one of these children.
The key issue being explored here is
why Ann and Jane Taylor – once so popular in the genre of children’s literature and
greatly influential to writers who followed them – are relatively unknown
today. Indeed, this 2001 illustrated edition of “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”
does not even name Jane Taylor as the author, but rather claims it is a traditional lullaby. At the time that Ann and Jane began publishing their poetry, writing for children had largely been composed in prose form. As Ann explains in Autobiography and
other Memorials of Mrs. Gilbert, "Dr. Aikin, Mrs. Barbauld, and others, had written well for children, but mostly in prose; since the days of Dr. Watts there had scarcely been, I will not say a Poet, but a Rhymster on the ground, and therefore the road was open to a humble popularity." (170) (Appendix E) By combining fun rhymes with moral subject matter and the child's perspective, Ann and Jane brought innovation to children's literature and created poems that were enjoyed by parents and children alike. Furthermore, as writing partners their respective styles and subject matter balanced each other and exposed children to all aspects of life and nature - "Ann Taylor dealt with the facts of life, and Jane with those of nature," (234). This is further illustrated in the two poems for which they are best remembered, Ann's "My Mother" and Jane's "The Star" (or "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star"); "the first, a lyric of life, [...], the second, of nature," (235). Not only was their writing popular amongst their readers, but it also inspired many other writers. Robert Southey and Sir Walter Scott praised the poems they contributed to The Associate Minstrels in 1810, and it has even been suggested that Ann's poem, "The Maniac's Song" (also found in The Associate Minstrels) inspired John Keats' "La Belle Dame sans Merci" (Felber 33) (Appendix F). Furthermore, Lewis Carroll displays the Taylors' influence on his writing in his parody of "The Star" found in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, and Robert Browning described their collections of children's poetry as "the most perfect thing of their kind in the English language." (Page & Smith 116)
However, in spite of Jane and Ann Taylor's successes and popularity, I would suggest that part of their undoing from a twenty-first century viewpoint is that their poetic innovations also led to the emergence of a new style of children’s literature: poetry and narrative which was still written specifically for children, but with no didactic undertones and no aim at improvement, created solely for amusement. Books such as Edward Lear's Book of Nonsense (1846) and Nonsense Songs (1870), Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking Glass (1871), Christina Rossetti's Goblin Market (1862), and Robert Louis Stevenson's A Child's Garden of Verses (1885) were popular amongst children as they were fun, humorous, nonsensical, and fantastical without worrying about morality. Though is cannot absolutely be stated why Ann and Jane are absent from the canon of children’s literature (despite their great influence on writers who are a part of the canon), I would argue that it is likely an unfortunate combination of genre, subject matter, and intended audience. Because many of their children’s poems are short, and many of them ‘nursery rhymes’, they could be easily memorised and widely spread. With time, this makes it increasingly difficult to know the origins of the nursery rhyme as the rhyme simply becomes a part of culture and common knowledge (for example, the origins of “Humpty Dumpty”, “Baa Baa Black Sheep”, “Jack and Jill”, and “Three Blind Mice” are all unknown). Furthermore, because of the simplicity of many of Ann and Jane’s poems – particularly those written from a child’s perspective – they are not as appealing to readers who are not children, whereas whimsical novels like Carroll’s Alice's Adventures in Wonderland are more versatile for adults and children alike. Most importantly, as time has progressed, both children's literature and social beliefs/values have continued to change. Recurrent themes of Christianity are not as relevant in today's diverse society, just as writing about infant deaths and animal cruelty is not desirable subject matter for contemporary children's poetry. Perhaps it is for this reason that the nature-based, relatively neutral, poem "The Star" is the only Taylor poem that is still so well-known. Moreover, due in part to Jane’s relatively young death and Ann’s busy employment as a mother, Jane and Ann published the majority of their works between 1804 and 1812 – a fairly short amount of time compared to writers like Anna Barbauld, whose writing was published over a 60-year span.
In 1812 – only
two years after Hymns for Infant Minds
was published – Ann and Jane moved to Ilfracombe, Devon, where their brother
Isaac had relocated due to illness. However, on 24 December 1813, Ann married
Reverend Joseph Gilbert and moved with him to Yorkshire. Here Ann and Joseph
raised eight children, giving Ann little time to write as she once had. In a
letter found in her autobiography, she writes “Mr. G[ilbert] is very desirous
that ‘Mrs. Gilbert’ should be as well known as ‘Miss Taylor;’ but he has
invested me with other characters [her children], and he does not feel,
perhaps, that to be well known at the expense of these, would be disgrace,
rather than fame.” (Autobiography and
other Memorials of Mrs. Gilbert 282) Jane continued to live and write in
Devon, until discovering a lump in her breast in 1817. She moved to Ongar
to live with her parents, all the while continuing to write essays, and died of
breast cancer on 13 April 1824. Surviving her sister by nearly forty years, Ann died in Nottingham on
20 December 1866.
Importance as Authors & the Canon of Children's Literature
However, in spite of Jane and Ann Taylor's successes and popularity, I would suggest that part of their undoing from a twenty-first century viewpoint is that their poetic innovations also led to the emergence of a new style of children’s literature: poetry and narrative which was still written specifically for children, but with no didactic undertones and no aim at improvement, created solely for amusement. Books such as Edward Lear's Book of Nonsense (1846) and Nonsense Songs (1870), Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking Glass (1871), Christina Rossetti's Goblin Market (1862), and Robert Louis Stevenson's A Child's Garden of Verses (1885) were popular amongst children as they were fun, humorous, nonsensical, and fantastical without worrying about morality. Though is cannot absolutely be stated why Ann and Jane are absent from the canon of children’s literature (despite their great influence on writers who are a part of the canon), I would argue that it is likely an unfortunate combination of genre, subject matter, and intended audience. Because many of their children’s poems are short, and many of them ‘nursery rhymes’, they could be easily memorised and widely spread. With time, this makes it increasingly difficult to know the origins of the nursery rhyme as the rhyme simply becomes a part of culture and common knowledge (for example, the origins of “Humpty Dumpty”, “Baa Baa Black Sheep”, “Jack and Jill”, and “Three Blind Mice” are all unknown). Furthermore, because of the simplicity of many of Ann and Jane’s poems – particularly those written from a child’s perspective – they are not as appealing to readers who are not children, whereas whimsical novels like Carroll’s Alice's Adventures in Wonderland are more versatile for adults and children alike. Most importantly, as time has progressed, both children's literature and social beliefs/values have continued to change. Recurrent themes of Christianity are not as relevant in today's diverse society, just as writing about infant deaths and animal cruelty is not desirable subject matter for contemporary children's poetry. Perhaps it is for this reason that the nature-based, relatively neutral, poem "The Star" is the only Taylor poem that is still so well-known. Moreover, due in part to Jane’s relatively young death and Ann’s busy employment as a mother, Jane and Ann published the majority of their works between 1804 and 1812 – a fairly short amount of time compared to writers like Anna Barbauld, whose writing was published over a 60-year span.
Nevertheless, as Isaac Taylor suggests,
whether or not they are successful from a canonical standpoint, Ann and Jane
Taylor ultimately gauged their victories upon their ability to better children
through poetry, and not by “literary repute”. He states, “authorship did come upon
them, as if it came with the force of a destiny, […] as if the word had been
uttered when the pen was given – ‘use this – within the compass of your ability
– use it always for the best purposes.’” (The
Family Pen 19) Finally, “[t]he principle
that has given […] vitality to these little books is of a sort that removes
them from the jurisdiction of mere criticism. It is a fact not questionable
that these books have had a great share in carrying forward the moral and
religious education of at least the religiously disposed mass of two or three
generations.” (19-20) Though these poems may cease to have the same impact with
today’s generations, they nevertheless influenced children’s literature as we
know it today, and for this Ann and Jane Taylor remain important figures in literary scholarship. As Muriel Kent states, “[i]t can certainly be
claimed for both Ann and Jane that they introduced a new kind of literature for
youth which has been growing and bearing its varied blossoms ever since they
first planted a springtime garden with loving care.” (72) Like a flower whose roots remain overlooked yet vital, it is because of Jane and Ann Taylor's foundational literary innovations that children's literature has become what it is today.
