Jane Pocock

Jane Pocock
Biographical information
Full name	Jane Eleanora Pocock
Born	ca. 1761/1762
Died	January 1779 (age 16/17)
Also known as	Arabella
Physical information
Gender	Female
Height	Tall
Hair color	Brown
Affiliations
Occupation	Prostitute
Nationality	U.S. American
Family members
Parents and Siblings	Faith Pocock † (mother) Frances Pocock (sister)
Book appearances
Written in My Own Heart's Blood
Written in My Own Heart's Blood
TV show appearances
Actor	Silvia Presente
Season(s)	7

Jane Pocock was a prostitute from Philadelphia.

Personal History

Following the death of her parents, and having no way to feed herself or her younger sister Fanny, Jane prostituted herself to earn money.

Events of the Novels

Written in My Own Heart's Blood

Main: Written in My Own Heart's Blood

Jane meets William Ransom in a brothel in Philadelphia in June 1778, shortly after he learns—to his horror—that Jamie Fraser is his father. William pays to spend a night with Jane, in order to save her from a repulsive client Captain Harkness.

Harkness comes back to the brothel a few days later, and pays twenty pounds for the maidenhead of Fanny, Jane's little sister. Jane asks her madam to be sent to the room together with Fanny. While Harkness is watching Fanny, Jane cuts his throat.

Jane and Fanny run, and leave Philadelphia with the British army. They meet William, and Jane asks him for his protection. William agrees, under the condition that Jane won't be selling herself to anyone—including him—and that she will be William's laundress. He is going to escort her and Fanny to New York, where they will part company.

Jane and Fanny leave the British camp the morning after the Battle of Monmouth. William finds them, and they tell him the story of Captain Harkness's death, and that they want to go to New York, but not with the British army. Rachel Hunter then takes the girls to a Quaker settlement, where they should be safe until William makes other arrangements.

In January 1779, a friend of Captain Harkness's recognizes Jane and denounces her for the murder. Jane is to be hanged. William tries to speak on her behalf to General Clinton, but futilely.

As a last resort, William seeks Jamie Fraser's help. They break into the house where Jane is kept, and find that she has cut her wrists with a broken beer bottle.

Personality

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Physical Appearance

Jane was a very pretty girl, quite tall, with soft chestnut hair, a lovely profile; straight-nosed and with a delicate, ripe mouth. She was considered a "fancy piece"—a higher class, more expensive prostitute.

Relationships

• Frances Pocock
• William Ransom

Frances Pocock is Jane's younger sister and only living family member. Despite their age difference, the death of their parents forged an unbreakable bond between the sisters.

Jane would do anything to keep her sister safe. It was in this line of thinking that Jane first became a prostitute. Her madam was willing to take them both in and take care of Frances as long as Jane worked for her.

Despite that they both knew living this way would result in Frances being forced into prostitution, it was still a fate Jane did not want for her little sister. So when Captain Harkness came back to the brothel offering to pay a large sum to have Fanny's maidenhead Jane did what she thought she had to.

Jane requested to go up tot he room with her sister - under the guise she would keep her from making a fuss. While Fanny undressed distracting Harkness, Jane slit his throat to prevent him from ever touching her sister. The pair escaped out the window that night together.

They happened upon William Ransom a few days later and Jane bartered with him for him to protect them and see them to New York. They traveled briefly with him, but being around the army Jane felt it unsafe and the sisters ran away. they were found by William and tell him the truth about Harkness and why they couldn't travel with the army. Rachel Hunter takes them to a Quaker settlement to be safe. This did not last long and they fled again.

In January 1779, while applying her trade in Georgia, Jane gets recognized by one of Harkness' associates and brought in for murder. She is given a sentencing to hang. Jane had given up hope of avoiding her death. However, she felt she could spare her young sister the sight of her being hanged opting to take her own life.

Jane meets William Ransom outside a brothel in Philadelphia in June 1778. Disturbed by the truth about his paternity, William becomes violent with her and storms out of the brothel. The next day, William pays to spend a night with Jane in order to save her from a repulsive client Captain Harkness.

A few days later, while Jane and her sister Fanny are leaving Philadelphia with the British army, they meet William again. Jane asks him for his protection. William agrees, under the condition that Jane won't be selling herself to anyone—including him—and that she will be William's laundress. He is going to escort her and Fanny to New York, where they will part company.

Jane and Fanny leave the British camp the morning after the Battle of Monmouth. William finds them, and they tell him how Jane killed Captain Harkness before leaving Philadelphia, and that they want to go to New York, but not with the British army. Rachel Hunter then takes the girls to a Quaker settlement, where they should be safe until William makes other arrangements.

In January 1779 in Georgia, a friend of Captain Harkness's recognizes Jane and denounces her for the murder. Jane is sentenced to be hanged. Fanny finds William and tells him what has happened. William tries to speak on her behalf to General Clinton, but futilely. As a last resort, William seeks Jamie's help. They break into the house where Jane is kept, and find that she has cut her wrists with a broken beer bottle.

Name

• Jane is the Medieval English form of Jehanne, an Old French feminine form of Iohannes (John), an English form of Iohannes, the Latin form of the Greek name Ιωαννης (Ioannes), itself derived from the Hebrew name יוֹחָנָן (Yochanan) meaning "Yahweh is gracious".
• Eleanora is the Latinate form of Eleanor, from the Old French form of the Occitan name Aliénor probably a Latinized form of a Germanic name of unknown meaning.
• Pocock a variant of Peacock, from the Middle English words pecok and pocok which mean "peacock". It was originally a nickname for a proud or haughty person.