Thomas Jefferson Hogg - Jane Williams

Jane Williams

In 1823 Hogg met Jane Williams while they were both visiting Percy Shelley's friend John Gisborne. Jane and her common-law husband Edward Ellerker Williams had been housemates of Shelley's shortly before his death. Edward Williams died with Shelley, leaving Jane alone with two young children. Hogg soon became very enamoured with her. They saw each other at the Gisborne household regularly during the autumn and early winter of 1823. That December he went back to Northern England to see his family. While he was there, he began writing to Jane regularly. The following spring he frequently visited her at her mother's house, and they often took long walks together. In March she moved out of her mother's house into a home of her own, allowing Hogg to see her more freely.

Jane was still legally married, therefore Hogg risked his family's wrath if he pursued a relationship with her. The couple were initially very discreet, and even denied to close friends that they were romantically involved. The situation was eased by the death of Hogg's father's in late 1823; the inheritance he received assured his financial security.

In 1825 Hogg accompanied his brother John on a tour of Continental Europe. Jane encouraged him to take the trip, believing that it would be a test of his commitment to her. He returned to England in February 1826. Although Hogg enjoyed the trip, he missed reading Greek literature and English newspapers. Writing the journals that were published in 1827 under the title Two Hundred and Nine Days occupied much of his time during the trip. He frequently attacked the Catholic Church and customs officials in his journals, but he often made positive observations about the lifestyles of many of the ordinary people that he met. Hogg also recounted his visit to the grave of Percy Shelley in Italy.