ABSTRACT
Jane Welsh Carlyle's principal contribution to English literature lies in her letters, but she occasionally experimented with becoming a public author. Throughout her life, Jane toyed with the notion of being an author. In his Reminiscences Thomas Carlyle alludes to her efforts to write autobiography. She 'had written at one time something of her own early life; but she gave up, and burnt it'. A remarkable number of the Carlyles' friends believed that she was capable of writing for the public, and her husband was no exception. In her correspondence, Jane frequently mentioned novels and novelists. In turn, literary London occasionally attributed anonymous works to Mrs Carlyle, such as Charlotte Bronte's Shirley. From the early stages of her life, Jane Carlyle's inclination to take creative risks was checked by her deference to custom and authority.
