Harriet Martineau's Autobiography

The unusual and candid autobiography of writer Harriet Martineau (1802–1876), first published in 1877.

Harriet Martineau (Author), Maria Weston Chapman (Author)

9781108022569, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 18 November 2010

460 pages, 2 b/w illus.
21.6 x 14 x 2.6 cm, 0.58 kg

Harriet Martineau (1802–1876) was a British writer who was one of the first social theorists to examine all aspects of a society, including class, religion, national character and the status of women. These volumes, first published in 1877, contain Martineau's unusual autobiography. Written in three months in 1855 when she believed herself to be dying of heart disease, the original two volumes remained unaltered despite her recovery and continued writing. The third volume, covering the remainder of Martineau's life, was written by her friend and literary executor, Maria Chapman, who had access to Martineau's private papers. These works were the first substantial published account of Martineau's life and work, and remain a remarkable example of the genre for Martineau's vivid descriptions and candid, outspoken opinions of Victorian society. Volume 1 covers her life until 1834. For more information on this author, see http://orlando.cambridge.org/public/svPeople?person_id=martha

Introduction
Part I. To Eight Years Old: 1. Ill health and terrors
2. Journey to Newcastle
Part II. To Seventeen Years Old: 1. Tabulating Bible morals
2. School life
3. Faults and misery
Part III. To Thirty Years Old: 1. Family relations
2. First appearance in print
3. Calamities
4. Scheme of the Political Economy Series
Part IV. To Thirty-Seven Years Old: 1. London lodgings
2. 'Literary lionism'
Appendix A. Miss Berry.

Subject Areas: Literary studies: c 1800 to c 1900 [DSBF]