Martineau, Harriet (1802–1876)

The 19th-century English author and economist Harriet Martineau was an energetic woman and was interested in a wide range of subjects. She was also deaf from an early age. She later suffered from heart disease. At the age of 44 years she became so ill that she was obliged to retire to comparative seclusion for the rest of her life.

English journalist, economist, and novelist. She wrote popular works on economics; several novels, including Deerbrook (1839); children's stories, including Feats on the Fiord (1844); and articles in favour of the abolition of slavery. Her Illustrations of Political Economy (1832–34) consist of theoretical tracts roughly disguised as stories which reveal her passion for social reform. Poor Laws and Paupers Illustrated followed in 1833–34. Other works include Society in America (1837).

She was born in Norwich, of Huguenot descent. At the suggestion of her younger brother she wrote a short paper, ‘Female Writers on Practical Divinity’, which was reprinted in the Unitarian Monthly Repository in 1821. This encouraged her, and she composed some verses, short stories, and a theological novel. Devotional Exercises appeared in 1823, and Traditions of Palestine in 1830. Illustrations of Taxation was published in 1834 and she wrote a History of England during the Thirty Years' Peace (1849–50) and a work on Household Education (1849). She also issued an important book on mesmerism in 1845.