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At the Circulating Library

A Database of Victorian Fiction, 1837–1901

A Database of Victorian Fiction, 1837–1901

Author: Jane Josephine Phillips

Author: Jane Josephine Phillips (1839–1918)

Alternate Name(s): Jerome (maiden name); Mrs. Alfred Phillips (familiar name)

Biography: Jane Josephine Phillips was born in 1839 in Stockport, Cheshire, the daughter of Joseph Jerome, an army quartermaster. In 1859, she married Major Alfred Phillips, a member of the Bombay staff corps. The couple lived in India where their three children, Alfred, Percival, and Emily, were born. By the early 1870s, the family returned to Europe, living first on Jersey then in London. Phillips was a prolific song writer, often setting popular poems to her own compositions. One of her songs, "Noor-ud-Deen's Lament," was presented to Seyyid Barghash of Zanzibar in 1888. She also wrote half a dozen novels. She died in her 81st year in 1918. (Note: not to be confused with the Australian actress and playwright Mrs. Alfred Phillips who died in 1876.)

References: British Census (1871, 1881, 1891); Morning Chronicle (2 June 1859); Times (29 June 1875, 2 October 1918)

Fiction Titles:

  1. Benedicta.  3 vol.  London: Macmillan, 1878.
  2. Man Proposes: A Novel.  3 vol.  London: W. H. Allen, 1884.
  3. Daphne's Daring: A Love Story.  1 vol.  London: Joseph Hughes, 1889.
  4. A Rude Awakening: A Romance.  3 vol.  London: Trischler, 1891.
  5. A Spinster's Diary.  1 vol.  Bristol: Arrowsmith, 1892.
  6. The Birth of a Soul: A Psychological Study.  1 vol.  London: W. H. Allen, 1894.