Jane Carlile
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1780/1781
Jane Carlile | |
|---|---|
| Born | Jane Cousins 1780/1781 |
| Died | 1843 |
| Occupation | Bookseller |
| Known for | Imprisonment for publishing seditious libel |
| Spouse | Richard Carlile (married 1813–32; separated) |
| Children | Richard (1814–1854), Alfred (b. 1816), Thomas Paine (1818–1819), Thomas Paine (b. 1819), Hypatia (1822–1825) |
Jane Carlile (née Cousins; 1780/81 – 1843)[1] was a bookseller and freethinker,[2] who was imprisoned alongside her husband Richard Carlile for the publication of a seditious libel.[1]
Jane Cousins was born in Hampshire and of, according to Philip W. Martin, "poor origins".[1] She married radical publisher Richard Carlile in Gosport, Hampshire in 1813.[1] She was seven years his senior.[3]
Following her husband's imprisonment in 1817, Jane took charge of the Fleet Street shop, continuing to sell radical works such as Sherwin’s Political Register, and Robert Southey's Wat Tyler.[2] She was herself imprisoned in February 1821.[1] The charge was a political one, following the printing of a letter from Richard Carlile in The Republican from 16 June 1820, in which he defended the right of personal assassination of tyrants.[2][4] Jane was sentenced to two years, to be served alongside Richard in Dorchester Prison.[2] Richard's sister, Mary Ann, took on the shop.[2]
Jane gave birth to a daughter, Hypatia, in 1822, while in prison.[1]
On separating from Carlile in 1832, Jane started her own bookshop.[1]