Marie Jane Cooper

Marie Jane Cooper is known for The New Guide to Knitting & Crochet, a handbook first published in Hastings in January 1847. In the book’s front matter, she presents herself as an author with hands-on knowledge of knitting and crochet, and the title page names J. S. Cooper of the Royal Marine Library, Marine Parade, Hastings, as publisher.

The guide was dedicated, by permission, to the Countess of Wicklow and was written for readers interested in “ladies’ fancy works.” Its contents range across practical projects and decorative patterns, including cuffs, shawls, purses, baby clothes, gloves, and edgings, showing that Cooper wrote for everyday makers as well as enthusiastic hobbyists.

Very little biographical information about her appears to be readily confirmed from the sources found here, so her life remains somewhat obscure. Even so, the survival and continued republication of her book suggest a writer whose clear, useful instruction helped preserve a snapshot of mid-19th-century domestic craft.