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Hadleigh Nub News delves into the life of former Lavenham resident, poet and author of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" Jane Taylor.

Taylor was born on September 23 1783 in London, her mother being the writer Ann Taylor and her father being the engraver Isaac Taylor. Her and her family soon moved to Shilling Grange in Shilling Street, Lavenham, where her house can still be seen.

Taylor enjoyed a successful literary career. Her first endeavour into the literary world was with the collection 'Original Poems for Infant Minds by several young persons."

The main contributors to the collection were Ann Taylor, Jane Taylor and Adelaide O'Keeffe. It was issued as a single-volume work in 1804. Another volume was published in 1807 due to the popularity of the collection.

After the success of the volume, Ann and Jane published the poetry collections "Rhymes for the Nurserys" in 1806 and "Hymns for Infant Minds" in 1810.

The most famous piece in the 1806 collection is "The Star," commonly known today as the famous song "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star," which was set to a French tune.

Taylor also wrote the popular moral verse, "The Violet":

Down in a green and shady bed,

A modest violet grew;

Its stalk was bent, it hung its head

As if to hide from view.

And yet it was a lovely flower,

Its colour bright and fair;

It might have graced a rosy bower,

Instead of hiding there.

In 1814, Taylor wrote a novel named "Display." It was met with success and the novel went through at least 13 editions up to 1832.

Tragically, Taylor died at the young age of 40 of breast cancer on April 13 1824. Her mind was described as still "teeming with unfulfilled projects."

She was buried at Ongar churchyard in Essex. After her death, her brother Isaac collected many of her works and included a biography of her in "The Writings of Jane Taylor, In Five Volumes" in 1832.