Aikin, Lucy |
| HISTORICAL WRITER, BIOGRAPHER, TRANSLATOR (ENGLAND) |
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BORN 6 Nov 1781, Warrington, Cheshire - DIED 29 Jan 1864, London: Hampstead CAUSE OF DEATH influenza GRAVE LOCATION London: St. John-at-Hampstead, Old Churchyard, Church Row, Hampstead (XB124 (next to the tomb of Joanna Baillie)) |
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Lucy Aiken was the fourth daughter of the Unitarian physician John Aikin (1747-1822) and his wife Maria born Jennings (d.1830). Children's writer Anne Laetitia Barbauld was her aunt. She was mostly educated privately and read widely. When she was seventeen she started writing articles for magazines and later she assisted her father as editor of his writings. She lived with her parents until her father's death. After that she lived in Hampstead for almost all of her life. Joanna Baillie was a neighbour and a friend. In 1810 she published "Epistles on Women, Exemplifying their Character and Condition in Various Ages and Nations, with Miscellaneous Poems". Her only work of fiction was "Lorimer, a Tale" (1814). She is best known for the historial works she wrote from 1818 to 1843, including "Memoirs of the Court of Queen Elizabeth" (1818) and "Life of Addison" (1843) on Joseph Addison (1672-1719). She died in 1864 in Hampstead and she was buried next to Joanna Baillie at the churchyard of St. John-at-Hampstead. Related persons • was a friend of Baillie, Joanna |
| Images |
 The grave of Lucy Aikin at St. John-at-Hampstead churchyard, London. Picture by Androom (10 Aug 2025) |
Sources • Crawford, Anne and others, The Europa Biographical Dictionary of British Women, Europa Publications Ltd, London, 1983 • Todd, Janet (ed.), Dictionary of British Woman Writers, Routledge, London, 1989 • Lucy Aikin - Wikipedia (EN) |
