Author: Cecilia Gidoin Jenkins
Author: Cecilia Gidoin Jenkins (1792–1868)
Alternate Name(s): Knowles (maiden name)
Biography: Cecilia Gidoin Jenkins was born around 1792 in Englefield Green, Surrey, the daugher of James Knowles and his wife Hannah (née Warren). Her younger sister was the novelist Clarinda Atkyns. As young women, they knew Lord Byron, Thomas Love Peacock, and the Shelleys. In fact, Peacock became enamored with the two sisters in turn, unsuccessfully proposing to Cecilia. Around 1823, she married solicitor James Gidoin Jenkins and the couple had five children. Due to her husband's financial difficulties, Jenkins turned to fiction, writing several anonymous silver-fork novels. She applied successfully to the Royal Literary Fund. Her husband died in 1861 after several years of mental illness. She died on 17 September 1868 in Sidmouth. Note: several sources erroneously attribute her novels to Henrietta Camilla Jenkin.
Author Tags:
References: Bentley; Nicholas A. Joukovsky, "Peacock in Love: Reminiscences of Cecilia Jenkins, an Unknown Victorian Novelist," Philological Quarterly (2006); RLF (case number 1190)
Fiction Titles:
- Miss Aylmer: or, The Maid's Husband. 3 vol. London: Bentley, 1840.
- Wedlock: or, Yesterday and To-Day. 3 vol. London: Bentley, 1841.
- The Smiths: A Novel. 3 vol. London: T. C. Newby, 1843.
- King Edwin and Northumbria: A Tale of Old English Times. 1 vol. London: James Burns, 1845.
- Lost and Won: or, The Love Test. 3 vol. London: Henry Colburn, 1846.