Fenn wrote a series of children's books for her nephews and nieces, inspired by Anna Laetitia Barbauld's Lessons for Children, and in 1782 she wrote to the children's publisher John Marshall asking whether he would be willing to publish them. Between 1782 and 1812, he published numerous books by Fenn, often anonymously or under the pseudonyms Mrs. Teachwell or Mrs. Lovechild. Cobwebs to Catch Flies, a reading primer, was perhaps her most popular book; it went through multiple editions in both Britain and America until the 1870s. Her Child's Grammar went through sixty editions by the 1860s. Fenn also created toys and games that encouraged mothers to teach their children themselves. Andrea Immel, a specialist in 18th-century childhood, writes that through her games, we can "recognize as an early advocate of child-centered teaching strategies" The games emphasize conversation and the child's own world; they encourage the mother to answer the child's questions and to spontaneously teach when the child is interested in learning. In 1795, Fenn had a falling out with her publisher, John Marshall, and moved her business to Elizabeth Newbery's firm and publishers in Norwich. Throughout her career, Fenn never received any royalties for her work, only free distribution copies of her works.
When Fenn's husband was knighted in 1787, Fenn became known as Lady Fenn. He served as High Sheriff of Norfolk from 1791–2. Upon his death on 14 February 1794, Fenn was left "financially secure" and able to devote more of her time to philanthropy. Fenn established a Sunday School in Dereham in 1785 which by 1788 had over 100 pupils. She also started a needlework school and "revived the trade to tow-spinning to give poor women an income." Fenn died at Dereham on 1 November 1813, aged 69, and was buried at St Bartholomew's church, Finningham, Suffolk. On 29 November 2013, two hundred years after her death, Fenn was finally recognised in Dereham with the unveiling of a 'Blue Plaque' outside Hill House, her home for nearly fifty years, beside a renewed plaque for her husband.
Literary analysis
Many of Fenn's works were directed towards young girls and women. She wrote an entire series entitled "Mrs. Teachwell's Library for Young Ladies." Many of these works focus on how to teach and outline Fenn's idea of proper reading materials. Fenn published several volumes of what we would now call picturebooks that employed woodcuts. Her sense of the visual layout of her books was keen and she carefully dictated to her publishers the margins and font sizes of her books.
Selected works
This list of works relies almost exclusively on Carol Percy's bibliography of Fenn's works.
