Jane Williams | |
---|---|
Born | Jane Cleveland 21 January 1798 Marylebone, London, England |
Died | 8 November 1884 London, England | (aged 86)
Resting place | Kensal Green Cemetery |
Occupation | Housewife |
Known for | Inspiring poems by Percy Bysshe Shelley |
Spouse |
John Edward Johnson
(m. 1814; died 1840) |
Partner(s) | Edward Ellerker Williams Thomas Jefferson Hogg |
Children | Edward Medwin Williams Jane Rosalind Williams Mary Prudentia Hogg Prudentia Sarah Jefferson Hogg |
Parent(s) | John and Mary Cleveland |
Jane Williams (née Jane Cleveland; 21 January 1798 – 8 November 1884)[1][2] was a British woman best known for her association with the Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. Jane was raised in England and India, before marrying a naval officer and settling in London. She soon left him for another military officer, Edward Ellerker Williams. After Edward and she left England for Italy, they became acquainted with Percy and Mary Shelley. Though she never had a romantic relationship with Shelley, near the end of his life he became deeply infatuated with her and addressed several of his poems to her. After Shelley and Edward Williams perished in a boating accident, she lived with Thomas Jefferson Hogg, also a close friend of Shelley, and had two children with him. The rest of her life was spent as a housewife in London.