Jean Adam
Encyclopedia
Jean Adam (April 30, 1704 – April 3, 1765) was a Scottish
poet
.
into a maritime
family, her most famous work (though the authorship was for some time in dispute) is "There's Nae Luck Aboot The Hoose," a tale of a sailor's wife and the safe return of her husband from the sea. It is reported that Robert Burns
remarked on its quality in 1771, some years after Adam's death.
Adam had a limited education in reading, writing, and sewing. She first encountered poetry not at school but when she read extracts from Sir Philip Sidney's romance
The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia (1590) whilst working in domestic service with the minister of West Kirk, Greenock. There she also became acquainted with John Milton’s work and his translations of the classics.
and printed by James Duncan. The collection did not sell well and Adam's financial situation worsened after she used her savings to ship a substantial number of copies to Boston
, USA, in an unsuccessful bid for success there.
Adams worked at a day school for many years. She gave the school up after 1751 and turned to domestic labour for the rest of her life. Unable to recapture the fleeting success she had had, Jean Adams died penniless in Glasgow
's Town’s Hospital, a workhouse
, on 3 April 1765, after it was reported that she had been wandering about in the streets.
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
.
Early years
Born in GreenockGreenock
Greenock is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council area in United Kingdom, and a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, located in the west central Lowlands of Scotland...
into a maritime
Sea
A sea generally refers to a large body of salt water, but the term is used in other contexts as well. Most commonly, it means a large expanse of saline water connected with an ocean, and is commonly used as a synonym for ocean...
family, her most famous work (though the authorship was for some time in dispute) is "There's Nae Luck Aboot The Hoose," a tale of a sailor's wife and the safe return of her husband from the sea. It is reported that Robert Burns
Robert Burns
Robert Burns was a Scottish poet and a lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland, and is celebrated worldwide...
remarked on its quality in 1771, some years after Adam's death.
Adam had a limited education in reading, writing, and sewing. She first encountered poetry not at school but when she read extracts from Sir Philip Sidney's romance
Romance (genre)
As a literary genre of high culture, romance or chivalric romance is a style of heroic prose and verse narrative that was popular in the aristocratic circles of High Medieval and Early Modern Europe. They were fantastic stories about marvel-filled adventures, often of a knight errant portrayed as...
The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia (1590) whilst working in domestic service with the minister of West Kirk, Greenock. There she also became acquainted with John Milton’s work and his translations of the classics.
Writing career
She began to write in earnest and in 1734, one Mr Drummond, a collector of customs and excise, aided in the publication of a volume of her poems, Miscellany poems, by subscription, dedicated to the Laird of CartsburnBarony of Cartsburn
The Barony of Cartsburn in the Baronage of Scotland was created for Thomas Crawfurd of Cartsburn in 1669, when the lands of Cartsburn in the Parish of Easter Greenock in the Shire of Renfrew were erected in liberam baronium, as a free Barony held of the Prince and Great Steward of Scotland...
and printed by James Duncan. The collection did not sell well and Adam's financial situation worsened after she used her savings to ship a substantial number of copies to Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, USA, in an unsuccessful bid for success there.
Adams worked at a day school for many years. She gave the school up after 1751 and turned to domestic labour for the rest of her life. Unable to recapture the fleeting success she had had, Jean Adams died penniless in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
's Town’s Hospital, a workhouse
Workhouse
In England and Wales a workhouse, colloquially known as a spike, was a place where those unable to support themselves were offered accommodation and employment...
, on 3 April 1765, after it was reported that she had been wandering about in the streets.
Her works
- Miscellany poems. By Mrs Jane Adams in Crawfordsdyke (Glasgow, 1734)
- "There's Nae Luck Aboot The Hoose" (song; attrib.)
Resources
- "Adams, Jean." The Feminist Companion to Literature in English. Virginia Blain et al., eds. New Haven and London: Yale UP, 1990. 7-8.
- Williamson, Karina. “Adam , Jean (1704–1765).” Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Ed. H. C. G. Matthew and Brian Harrison. Oxford: OUP, 2004. 10 Jan. 2007.