Person Jacson; Frances Margaretta (1754-1842); novelist DS/UK/4618 Jacson Frances Margaretta 1754-1842 novelist Female Somersal Herbert Frances Jacson was the daughter of Rev. Simon Jacson (1728–1808), rector of Bebington, and his wife Anne Fitzherbert (c. 1729–1795), daughter of Richard Fitzherbert of Somersal Herbert. Her elder brother Roger succeeded his father as rector, after which the family moved to Stockport and then Tarporley, Cheshire, where her father became rector. Frances's brother Shallcross (d 1821) amassed significant gambling debts and as a result she and her sister Maria Elizabetha Jacson (1755–1829) turned to writing to earn money. She became a successful novelist, publishing anonymously 'Plain Sense' (1795), Disobedience (1797), 'Things by their Right Names' (1812), 'Rhoda' (1816) and 'Isabella' (1823). Her sister Maria published several well-regarded books on botany. On their father's death in 1808, Frances and her sister were offered Somersal Hall for life, by their cousin Lord St Helens. Frances died there in 1842. Complete Yes DERBYSHIRE\71010800 06/06/2025 DERBYSHIRE\71010800 06/06/2025 8572db60-5f81-46f2-a852-efaec2042304