Jane Arden Gardiner (1758–1840) was a British schoolmistress and grammarian, and one of the earliest friends of

Mary Wollstonecraft Mary Wollstonecraft (, ; 27 April 1759 – 10 September 1797) was a British writer, philosopher, and advocate of women's rights. Until the late 20th century, Wollstonecraft's life, which encompassed several unconventional personal relationsh ...

Early life

Gardiner was the daughter of John Arden, a scholar and lecturer, who is best known as one of

’s early teachers. His interests centred on

natural philosophy Natural philosophy or philosophy of nature (from Latin ''philosophia naturalis'') is the philosophical study of physics, that is, nature and the physical universe. It was dominant before the development of modern science. From the ancient wo ...

(science) and ''

belles lettres is a category of writing, originally meaning beautiful or fine writing. In the modern narrow sense, it is a label for literary works that do not fall into the major categories such as fiction, poetry, or drama. The phrase is sometimes used pejora ...

'' (literature); he taught his daughter in moments of leisure. Gardiner herself was friends with Wollstonecraft: they lived near one another in

Beverley Beverley is a market and minster town and a civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, of which it is the county town. The town centre is located south-east of York's centre and north-west of City of Hull. The town is known fo ...

for several years, and when the Wollstonecraft family moved away in 1774, the girls wrote letters to one another throughout their teens and early twenties.

Career

Gardiner began teaching early, leaving home in her mid-teens to take up a position as governess to the daughters of Lady Martin in north Norfolk. In 1780 she moved across England to the household of Lord Ilchester of

Redlynch, Somerset Redlynch is a village and former manor in the civil parish of Bruton, in the South Somerset district of Somerset, England. The 18th-century church and a folly named The Towers are of architectural interest. History Ownership In the mid-12th ce ...

. She was succeeded as governess to the Fox-Strangeways family by

Agnes Porter Agnes Porter (c.1752 – 1814) was a British governess known for her diaries. Life Porter was born in Edinburgh; her year of birth is uncertain but her birthday was 18 June. Her father was a member of the clergy. She was fluent in French and she ...

, whose memoirs were reprinted in 1998. Gardiner opened a boarding school for girls in Beverley in 1784, which she directed by herself for thirteen years. This establishment provided a home for her aging parents and invalid younger sister. By this point she had reconciled herself to her fate: "I own that the life of a governess would not have been my choice, but I am content." Not all governesses were oppressed and isolated; she says on a return visit that the Martin family treated her "more as a daughter than as an humble 'gouvernante'". She went with the Martins to

Houghton Hall Houghton Hall ( ) is a country house in the parish of Houghton in Norfolk, England. It is the residence of David Cholmondeley, 7th Marquess of Cholmondeley. It was commissioned by the ''de facto'' first British Prime Minister, Sir Robert Wa ...

, then in the possession of Horace Walpole, admiring the famous collection of paintings there. She became acquainted with

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

, and asked him to help improve her understanding of art. Her father died in 1791. She married a friend of her younger brother in 1797, and in 1800 they moved, with her pupils, to

Elsham Hall Elsham Hall is a 17th-century English country house situated in its own parkland in Elsham, North Lincolnshire. The park and gardens are open to the public. The house The present house dates back to the 1760s, on the site of an earlier dwelling o ...

, a country house near

Elsham, North Lincolnshire Elsham is a village and civil parish in North Lincolnshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 400. It is situated north from Brigg, north from the M180 and west from the A15 road. The A15 (built in 1978) tr ...

. She continued managing her school for thirty more years after that. She accumulated a library for the benefit of her pupils, totalling 2800 volumes in English, French, and Italian. In 1814 the family and school moved to Ashby Hall. In 1836, its owner wanted to take occupancy of the house, so aged 78, Gardiner gave up her school, and died four years later.

Writing

Gardiner was the author of several educational texts. In 1799 she published her ''Young Ladies’ Grammar'', an unusual grammar that used French as a model for English grammar. (for context, see History of English grammars.) In 1801 she published two accompanying volumes called ''English Exercises''. She followed these with a travelogue entitled ''An Excursion from London to Dover, in Two Volumes'' (1806), and another grammar called ''An Easy French Grammar'' (1808).

Personal life

Gardiner was a devout Christian. She read the Bible daily, in tandem with '' Scott's Commentary'', and the ''Golden Treasury'' by Karl Heinrich von Bogatzky. Most of the diary entries reprinted by her daughter are taken up with religious reflections. One of her former pupils claimed that "out of no school was there ever sent forth a greater number of solidly educated christian women" This would have been about 600 young women, over the course of half a century. Gardiner named her daughter Everilda, the given name of her first employer, Lady Martin. This daughter wrote a somewhat hagiographic memoir of her mother, which this article draws on. It quotes extensively from letters received and diary entries, as well as giving a biographical sketch and an extended description of her last illness and deathbed. The book was funded by subscription publishing, an early version of crowdfunding, and Everilda expressed surprise that almost 700 individuals had "subscribed" (pre-purchased) about 1400 copies.the "advertisement" (a one-page preface)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gardiner, Jane 1758 births 1840 deaths English governesses Linguists of English 18th-century English writers 18th-century British women writers English women writers People from Beverley People from Elsham, North Lincolnshire 19th-century English writers 19th-century English women writers English educators 18th-century English women 18th-century English people