Jane C. Webb Loudon (August 19, 1807 – July 13, 1858) was an early pioneer of science fiction, long before the term was invented, so that she was discussed for a century as a writer of Gothic fiction or fantasy or horror, though she did none of these things as we now categorize fiction. She is better known for her work in creating the first popular gardening manuals, providing an alternative to the specialist horticultural tomes of her time, and ...
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Jane C. Webb Loudon (August 19, 1807 – July 13, 1858) was an early pioneer of science fiction, long before the term was invented, so that she was discussed for a century as a writer of Gothic fiction or fantasy or horror, though she did none of these things as we now categorize fiction. She is better known for her work in creating the first popular gardening manuals, providing an alternative to the specialist horticultural tomes of her time, and for her contributions to the work of her husband, John Claudius Loudon.
Jane Webb was born in 1807 to Thomas Webb, Esq., a wealthy manufacturer from Edgbaston, Birmingham. (Sources vary on her place of birth: according to the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (ODNB) she was born at Ritwell House (possibly the same as Kitwell House at Bartley Green)) After the death of her mother in 1819 she travelled Europe for a year with her father, learning several languages. On their return his business faltered, and as a consequence of over...
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