Jean Ingelow

Jean Ingelow, an English poet and novelist, rose to prominence in 1863. She also wrote a few children's stories. Jean Ingelow was born on March 17, 1820, in Boston, Lincolnshire, as the daughter of banker William Ingelow. Her family relocated to Ipswich when she was 14. Her father was the manager of the Ipswich and Suffolk Banking Company, and they lived above the bank at 2 Elm Street. After the bank failed, her family relocated, and an arched entrance to Arcade Street was constructed. A blue plaque honoring her has been put, and nearby Ingelow Street is named for her. Jean Ingelow wrote rhymes and stories for publications as a child under the alias Oris, but her first volume, A Rhyming Chronicle of Incidents and Feelings, was published anonymously by an established London publisher when she was 30 years old. Alfred Tennyson praised it as delightful and expressed an interest in knowing the author. They eventually became pals. Ingelow followed this with the narrative "Allerton and Dreux" in 1851, but it was the publication of her Poems in 1863 that catapulted her to fame. It quickly went through several editions and was set to music, becoming popular as home entertainment. The collection was said to have sold 200,000 copies.