By their teens, Jane and Maria were remarkably well connected for girls who'd been brought up in straitened circumstances. That was thanks, in part, to their artist-brother Robert's securing a place at the Royal Academy Schools. As the Porter sisters made their way in London, across the tumultuous 1790s, they began to publish their writings. In the process, they developed an even more extensive network of brilliant friends, from many walks of life, including abolitionists, actors, artists, authors, bankers, courtesans, enslavers, feminists, military men, nobility, royalty, and war heroes. As they aged, the Porter sisters also proved incredibly loyal to old friends and neighbors, including those of little wealth or no social status. The extra illustration gallery below includes images of the people in the Porters' social circle—images that are either not found in the pages of Sister Novelists or provided here as supplements to those included there.

MARY ROBINSON. As young women, Jane and Maria worshipped the feminist author, Mary Robinson. It proved a fraught connection because of her status as a former courtesan. See chapter 5.

THERESE DE CAMP. Jane and Maria were befriended by the famous actor, Miss De Camp, and became entangled in her dramas. Miss De Camp has a prominent place in the sisters' stories in ch. 6.

CHARLES KEMBLE. This image of actor Charles Kemble appears in the pages of the book, but it's reproduced here in its color-tinted format. See ch. 6.

SIR SIDNEY SMITH. Jane first met the naval war hero Sir Sidney Smith through her brother, who painted him in battle, as well as in portraits. The Porter family's relationship with Smith would shape both Jane's life and her fiction. He first appears in ch. 7.

LADY CRAVEN, LATER THE MARGAVINE OF ANSPACH. This is an old reproduction of George Romney's Portrait of Lady Elizabeth Craven, who later became the Margravine of Anspach. She features most prominently in ch. 14.

SIR LUMLEY ST. GEORGE SKEFFINGTON, AKA SKIFFY. A famous dandy, and an ecstatic admirer of Jane's, Skiffy got to know Maria close up at the Margravine of Anspach's homes. He becomes part of the Porters' story in ch. 14.

COL. DAN MACKINNON. A cigar card image of Colonel Dan Mackinnon is included in Sister Novelists. This is the description found on the back of that card. He appears in ch. 18.

EDMUND KEAN. A visit to Mary Kean, wife of famed tragic actor Edmund Kean, changed the course of Jane's writing life and pointed her toward the stage. Maria feared that Jane's going to work in the world of the theatre, with the Keans and others. was like putting a lamb among foxes. See ch. 19.