Jane Roberts 1792 – 1871
Jane Roberts began her literary career as a travel writer with Two Years at Sea, an account of a voyage to Tasmania, published in 1834. She followed up with two novels, Lowenstein, King of the Forests, in 1836, and The Court Favourite, in 1840, after which she published her own game, The Royal Historical Game of Cards. Her diary (1833 to 1839 and 1851) mentions more than three hundred individuals, ranging from earls and counts in fashionable Regency London to explorers in the Australian outback. She was a personal friend of Augusta Leigh, the half sister of the poet, Lord Byron. Her diary speaks first hand of the almost insurmountable challenges of publication, in a male-dominated environment.
The two volumes of Jane’s diary are held by the Duke University Libraries in the USA. The manuscript, which can be seen online, is difficult to read, but it has been transcribed, edited, analysed and explained in Jane Roberts, Author, which can be downloaded below.
