Dear Readers: This post originally appeared on Reading with Austen blog – a listing of all the women writers and their works that were in the Godmersham Park Library – a Library that Jane Austen had access to on her visits to her brother’s home in Kent. I have noted their current location or if they are LOST SHEEP – you can read more about the Library and our effort to locate the missing works here at the Reading with Austen website. Please contact us if you should happen upon any!
Abbreviations:
- KC = Knight Collection at Chawton House
- JAHM = Jane Austen House Museum
- LOST SHEEP – please help us find this title!
Of the 45 authors listed with a total of 62 titles, 23 are in the Knight Collection at Chawton House, 29 are LOST SHEEP, 3 works are partially in KC and partially LOST, 2 are in private collections, and the 5 Jane Austen 1st editions are at the Jane Austen’s House Museum.
As mentioned in my previous post on Sarah Scott, it is interesting to search the Godmersham Park Library 1818 catalogue for titles written by women, knowing that Jane Austen would have had access to them. So here is a list of all the women writers and their works, with hopes to eventually do a post on each (which might actually get done in these times of quarantine…).
It is quite an impressive list – novelists, poets, playwrights, philosophers, historians, essayists, translators, letter-writers! And while many of the works remain in the Knight Collection, there are more that are Lost Sheep, our effort still to locate them. If you might have a copy of any work by any of these women with a Knight bookplate in them, please get in touch with us!
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Austen, Jane (1775-1817) [of course!]
- Northanger Abbey: and Persuasion. 1st 4 vols. London, 1818. JAHM
- Sense and Sensibility: A Novel. 1st 3 vols. London, 1818. JAHM
- Pride and Prejudice: A Novel. 1st 3 vols. London, 1813. JAHM
- Mansfield Park: A Novel. 1st 3 vols. London, 1814. JAHM
- Emma: A Novel. 1st 3 vols. London, 1816. JAHM
Baillie, Joanna (1762-1851)
- A Series of Plays, in which it is attempted to delineate The Stronger Passions of the Mind, each passion being the subject of A Tragedy and a Comedy. 4th 2 vols. London, 1803. LOST SHEEP
Barbauld, Anna Letitia (1743-1825) [as A. Aikin, her maiden name]
- Miscellaneous pieces, in prose, by J. and A. L. Aikin. 2nd 1 vol. London, 1775. LOST SHEEP
Bowdler, Jane (1743-1784)
- Poems and essays, by A Lady Lately Deceased. 2 vols. Bath, 1786. KC

[Jane Bowdler] Poems and Essays by A Lady Lately Deceased. Bath, 1786.
- The History of Lady Julia Mandeville. By the translator of Lady Catesby’s letters. 2nd 2 vols. London, 1763. LOST SHEEP
Brunton, Mary (1778-1818)
- Self-control: a novel. 3rd 3 vols. Edinburgh, 1811. KC
Burney, Frances (1752-1840)
- The Wanderer; or, Female Difficulties. By the author of Evelina; Cecilia; and Camilla. 5 vols. London, 1814. KC (vol 2-4 only)
Campan, Jeanne Louise Henriette Genest (1752-1822)
- Memoirs of the private life of Marie Antoinette, Queen of France and Navarre. To which are added, recollections, sketches, and anecdotes, illustrative of the reigns of Louis XIV. Louis XV. And Louis XVI. By Madame Campan, First Lady of the bed-chamber to the Queen. 3rd 2 vols. London, 1824. KC
Carter, Elizabeth (1717-1806)
- Poems on Several Occasions. 1 vol. London, 1762. LOST SHEEP
- All the Works of Epictetus, Which are now Extant; consisting of His Discourses, preserved by Arrian, In Four Books, The Enchiridion, and Fragments. Translated from the Original Greek, By Elizabeth Carter. With An Introduction, and Notes, by the Translator. 1 vol. London, 1758. KC (2 copies)
Chapone, Hester (1727-1801)
- Letters on the Improvement of the mind, addressed to a young lady. 1st 2 vols. London, 1773. KC
Cornwallis, Mary (1758-1836)
- Observations, Critical, Explanatory, and Practical, on the Canonical Scriptures. By Mrs. Cornwallis, of Wittersham, Kent. 4 vols. London, 1817. LOST SHEEP
Craven, Elizabeth Craven, Baroness (1750-1828)
- A Journey through The Crimea to Constantinople. In A Series of Letters from the Right Honourable Elizabeth Lady Craven, To His Serene Highness The Margrave of Brandebourg, Anspach, and Bareith. Written in the Year M DCC LXXXVI. 1st 1 vol. London, 1789. LOST SHEEP
Dixon, Sarah (1671/2-1765)
- Poems on Several Occasions. 1st 1 vol. Canterbury, 1740. LOST SHEEP
Dobson, Susannah (d. 1795) [as translator]
- The Life of Petrarch. Collected from Memoires pour la Vie de Petrarch. Jacques-François-Paul-Aldonce de Sade (1705-1778); translated by Mrs. [Susannah] Dobson. 4th 2 vols. Embellished with eight copper-plates, designed by Kirk, and engraved by Ridley. London, 1799. KC
Edgeworth, Maria (1768-1849)
- Patronage by Maria Edgeworth. 4 vols. 2nd London, 1814. KC
- Tales of Fashionable Life, by Miss Edgeworth. 1st 6 vols. London, 1809-12. KC
- Harrington, a tale; and Ormond, a tale. 2 vols. London, 1817. LOST SHEEP
Elie de Beaumont, Anne-Louise Morin-Dumesnil (1729-1783)
- Lettres Du Marquis de Roselle. Par Madame E. D. B. Nouvelle Edition. 2 vols. London, 1764. KC
Elwood, Anne Katharine (1796-1873)
- Narrative of a Journey Overland from England by the Continent of Europe, Egypt, and the Red Sea, to India; including a residence there, and voyage home, in the years 1825, 26, 27, and 28. By Mrs. Colonel Elwood. In two volumes. 1 vol ed? London, 1830. LOST SHEEP
Fielding, Sarah (1710-1768) [as translator]
- Xenophon’s Memoirs of Socrates. With the Defence of Socrates, before His Judges. Translated from The Originial [sic] Greek. By Sarah Fielding. 1st 1 vol. Bath, 1762. KC
Gardiner, Jane (1758-1840)
- An excursion from London to Dover: containing some account of the Manufactures, Natural and Artificial Curiosities, History and Antiquities of the Towns and Villages. Interspersed with Historical and Biographical Anecdotes, Natural History, Poetical Extracts, and Tales. Particularly intended for the amusement and instruction of youth. By Jane Gardiner, Elsham Hall, Lincolnshire. In Two Vols. 1st. ed. 2 vols. London, 1806. KC

Jane Gardiner. An Excursion from London to Dover. London, 1806.
Genlis, Stéphanie Félicité, comtesse de (1746-1830)
- Adèle et Théodore, ou, Lettres sur l’éducation, Contenant[.] Tous les principes relatifs aux trois différens plans d’éducation des Princes, des jeunes Personnes, & des Hommes. 1st 3 vols. Paris, 1782. KC (vol 3 only), LOST SHEEP (vol 1 and 2)
- Les Veillées du Château, ou, cours de morale à l’usage des enfans, par l’auteur d’Adèle et Théodore. 1st 3 vols. Paris, 1784. KC
Graffigny, (Françoise d’Issembourg d’Happoncourt), Mme de (1695-1758)
- Letters written by a Peruvian Princess. A New Edition, in two Volumes. London, 1771. LOST SHEEP
- The Peruvian letters, Translated from the French. With An additional original Volume. By R. Roberts, translator of Select Tales from Marmontel, author of Sermons by a Lady, and translator of the History of France, from the Abbé Millot. 2 vols. London, 1774. KC
- Lettres d’une Peruvienne. 1 vol. Paris, n.d. LOST SHEEP
Grant, Anne (1755-1838)
- Poems on various subjects, by Mrs. Grant. 1st Edinburgh, 1803. LOST SHEEP
- Letters from the mountains; Being the real correspondence of a lady, between the years 1773 and 1807. 2nd 3 vols. London, 1807. KC
Hays, Mary (1759-1843)
- Female Biography; or, Memoirs of Illustrious and Celebrated Women, of all ages and countries. Alphabetically arranged. By Mary Hays. 1st 6 vols. London, 1803. In the collections of the Godmersham Park Heritage Centre.
Haywood, Eliza Fowler (1693-1756) – as a contributor
- A Companion to the theatre: or, a view Of our most celebrated Dramatic Pieces: In which the Plan, Characters, and Incidents of each are particularly explained. Interspers’d With Remarks Historical, Critical and Moral. 2 vols. London, 1747. LOST SHEEP
Lee, Harriet (1757-1851) and Sophia Lee (1750-1824)
- Canterbury tales. By Harriet Lee [and Sophia Lee]. 5 vols. London, 1804. [The original 5 volumes of this work were published in 1797, 1798, 1799, 1801 and 1805. The 4th edition of vol. 1 was published in 1804; it’s not possible to identify the editions of the rest of volumes in the Godmersham Library copy from the Godmersham catalogue details]. LOST SHEEP
Lee, Sophia (1750-1824) [see under Harriet Lee]
Lennox, Charlotte (ca. 1730-1804) [as translator]
- Memoirs of Maximilian de Bethune, Duke of Sully, Prime Minister to Henry the Great. Containing The History of the Life and Reign of that Monarch, And his own Administration under Him. By Pierre Mathurin de L’écluse des Loges (ca. 1713-1783). Translated from the French by the Author of The Female Quixote [Charlotte Lennox]. To which is added, The Trial of Ravaillac for the Murder of Henry the Great. 5 vols. London, 1757. KC
Macaulay, Catharine (1731-1791)
- The history of England from the accession of James I. to that of the Brunswick Line. By Catharine Macaulay. 1st 5 vols. (of 8). London, 1763-83. KC

Catharine Macaulay. • The history of England from the accession of James I. to that of the Brunswick Line. London, 1763-83.
Maintenon, Françoise d’Aubigné, marquise de (1635-1719)
- Lettres de Madame de Maintenon. Contenant[.] Des Lettres à différentes personnes, celles à M. d’Aubigné, & celles à M. & à Me. de Villette. Nouvelle Edition. 16 vols. Maestricht [Maastricht], 1778. KC
Marlborough, Sarah Churchill, Duchess of (1660-1744)
- An Account of the Conduct of the Dowager Duchess of Marlborough, From her first coming to Court, To the Year 1710. In a Letter from Herself to my Lord––. 1 vol. London, 1742. LOST SHEEP
Masters, Mary (fl. 1733-1755)
- Familiar Letters and Poems on Several Occasions. By Mary Masters. 1st 1 vol. London, 1755. LOST SHEEP
Meades, Anna (b. ca. 1734)
- The history of Sir William Harrington. Written some years since, And revised and corrected By the late Mr. Richardson, author of Sir Charles Grandison, Clarissa, &c. 1st 4 vols. London, 1771. LOST SHEEP
Montagu, Elizabeth Robinson (1718-1800)
- An Essay on the Writings and Genius of Shakespear, compared with the Greek and French Dramatic Poets. With Some Remarks Upon the Misrepresentations of Mons. de Voltaire. 1st 1 vol. London, 1769. LOST SHEEP
- The letters of Mrs. Elizabeth Montagu, with some of the letters of her correspondents. Part the first, Containing her letters from an early age to the age of twenty-three. Published by M. Montagu, Esq. M.P., her 1st 2 vols. (of 4). London, 1809-13. KC
Montolieu, Isabelle de (1751-1832)
- Agathoclès, ou Lettres écrites de Rome et de Grèce, au commencement du Quatrième Siècle, Traduites de l’allemand de Mme. Pichler, Par Mme. Isabelle de Montolieu. 1st 4vols. Paris, 1812. LOST SHEEP
More, Hannah (1745-1833)
- Florio: A Tale, For Fine Gentlemen and Fine Ladies: and, The Bas Bleu; or, Conversation: Two Poems. 1st 1 vol. London, 1786. LOST SHEEP
- Strictures on the modern system of female education. With a view of the principles and conduct prevalent among women of rank and fortune. By Hannah More. 9th 2 vols. London, 1799. LOST SHEEP
- Coelebs in search of a wife. Comprehending Observations on domestic habits and manners, religion and morals. 9th 2 vols. London, 1809. KC
Orléans, Charlotte-Elizabeth, duchesse d’ (1652-1722)
- Fragmens de lettres originales De Madame Charlotte-Elizabeth de Bavière, Veuve de Monsieur, Frère unique de Louis XIV, Ecrites à S. A. S. Monseigneur le Duc Antoine-Ulric de B** W****, & à S. A. R. Madame la Princess de Galles, Caroline, née Princess d’Anspach. De 1715 à 1720. 1st 2 vols. Hambourg, 1788. KC
Parry, Catherine (d. 1788)
- Eden Vale. A Novel. In Two Volumes. Dedicated, by permission, To Lady Shelburne. By Mrs. Catherine Parry. 1st 2 vols. London, 1784. KC (vol. 2 only); LOST SHEEP (vol. 1)
Piozzi, Hester Lynch; Thrale, Hester Lynch (1741-1821)
- Letters to and from the late Samuel Johnson, LL.D. To which are added some poems never before printed. Published from the original mss. in her possession, by Hester Lynch Piozzi. 1st 2 vols. London, 1789. LOST SHEEP
- Observations and reflections made in the course of a journey through France, Italy, and Germany. By Hester Lynch Piozzi. 1st 2 vols. London, 1789. In a private collection.
- Anecdotes of the late Samuel Johnson, LL.D. during the last twenty years of his life. By Hesther Lynch Piozzi. 1st 1 vol. London, 1786. LOST SHEEP
Porter, Jane (1776-1850)
- The pastor’s fire-side, a novel. 1st 4 vols. London, 1817. LOST SHEEP
Radcliffe, Ann Ward (1764-1823)
- A Journey made in the summer of 1794, through Holland and the Western Frontier of Germany, with a Return Down the Rhine: to which are added observations during a tour to The Lakes of Lancashire, Westmoreland, and Cumberland. By Ann Radcliffe. 1st 1 vol. London, 1795. LOST SHEEP
Riccoboni, Marie Jeanne de Heurles Laboras de Mézières (1713-1792)
- Lettres de Mylady Juliette Catesby, A Mylady Henriette Campley, Son Amie. Quatrieme Edition. 4th 1 vol. Amsterdam, 1760. KC

Marie Jeanne Riccoboni. Lettres de Mylady Juliette Catesby, A Mylady Henriette Campley, Son Amie. Amsterdam, 1760.
- The history of Sir George Ellison. 1st 2 vols. London, 1766. LOST SHEEP
- A Description of Millenium Hall, and the Country Adjacent: Together with the Characters of the Inhabitants, And such Historical Anecdotes and Reflections, as May excite in the Reader proper Sentiments of Humanity, and lead the Mind to the Love of Virtue. By A Gentleman on his Travels. 1st 1 vol. London, 1762. LOST SHEEP
Sévigné, Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, marquise de (1629-1696)
- Recueil des lettres de Madame la Marquise de Sévigné, a Madame la Comtesse de Grignan, sa fille. Nouvelle Edition augmentée. 9 vols. Paris,m 1785. KC
Smith, Charlotte Turner (1749-1806)
- Elegiac sonnets, by Charlotte Smith. The fifth edition, with additional sonnets and other poems. 5th 1 vol. London, 1789. LOST SHEEP
- The letters of a solitary wanderer: containing narratives of various description. By Charlotte Smith. 1st 2 vols (of 3?). London, 1800. LOST SHEEP
West, Jane (1758-1852)
- Letters to a young lady, in which the duties and character of women are considered, chiefly with a reference to prevailing opinions. By Jane West. 4th 3 vols. London, 1811. KC
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There are several titles in the catalogue with no author listed. Here are two novels – could either of these been written by a woman? [these 2 titles were not counted in the totals noted above] – more on these two books in a future post…
- Edward. A novel. Dedicated (by permission) to Her Majesty. London, 1774. 2 vols. LOST SHEEP
- The correspondents, an original novel; in a series of letters. A new edition. London, 1775. 1 vol. LOST SHEEP
[Title page images are courtesy of the Reading with Austen website].
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Hi, Deb. Long time no comment, I know–but the present circumstances leave me with a bit more time for checking my Twitter feed, where I saw the link.
I was inspired by the names Jane Gardiner and Anne Grant, and the works of these ladies, to wonder what sort of travelogue our Mrs. Gardiner would have written (“An excursion from London to Derbyshire, containing some account of an unexpected attachment”?) and what sort of “Poems on various subjects” our Mrs. Grant would have written (possible topics include green geese, turkeys almost past their eat-by date, gluttonous husbands, and wayward half-siblings).
I am planning to retire when I turn 65 in August, tanking economy be damned–and in any leisure that I have from spousal caregiving, I may now have a few ideas for further Austenesque pastiche. (See “The Early Life of Lady Catherine de Bourgh” in the ebook What Jane Austen Didn’t Tell Us!)
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Ha! You have come up with great titles for Ms. Gardiner and Ms. Grant! Can’t wait to read them! – one does wonder if JA knew of them. I find it interesting all the French books, and the fact that so many are still in the collection, i’e. they were not sold off or given away – they being important for the “education of young ladies”…
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45 female authors But that didn’t impress Virginia Woolf though. Jane couldn’t make it as ,”Shakespeare’s Sister.”Deb. Maybe its the subjects covered. Did Jane Austen speak French? Maybe I am being thick, but I must have missed out on that.
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Hi Tony – not sure what your point is – Woolf thought a great deal of Jane Austen (have you read her two essays on JA? And, yes, it is believed that she knew French – her nephew mentions it very specifically in hie Memoir that both she and Cassandra understood French…and that she started learning it at a very young age. Here’s a great essay on the topic: http://www.jasna.org/persuasions/printed/number20/austen-leigh.pdf
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Yes I know VW liked Jane Austen. In A Room of My Own, VW makes the point though that she didn’t think Austen had enough women writers as an influnece to make her as great as Shakespeare. That is all I was trying to say, Deb.I was actually surpirsed at the number and variety of women writers there were at the time.A certain class though. I am only echoing Woolf!! Ha! Ha!
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