Jane was born 14 February 1743, the eldest daughter of Thomas Bowdler of Bath, Somerset (1706–1785) and his wife Elizabeth Stuart Bowdler, née Cotton (died 1797), was a religious writer.

Jane was the sister of John Bowdler the Elder (1746–1823), a religious pamphleteer, and of Thomas Bowdler (1754–1825), who is remembered for publishing expurgated editions of Shakespeare, edited largely by his sister Harriet, and of other works.

[2] She was presumably the lively, unconventional "Miss Bowdler" of Bath, who features in a diary that the 20-year-old Frances Burney kept of a lengthy visit to Teignmouth, Devon, in 1773.

[1] Jane's Poems and Essays by a Lady Lately Deceased was published by her family for charity in 1786 and reprinted 16 times up to 1830.

[4] A special edition was printed in 1797 in line with her mother's will, and distributed to friends instead of a mourning ring.