Harriet Martineau

Harriet Martineau (1802-1876), English writer, whose writings, characterized by advanced views on social, economic, and religious questions, caused considerable controversy in her time. Born in Norwich and privately educated, she first gained public attention with a number of books on economics, including Illustrations of Political Economy (1832-1834), Poor Laws and Paupers (1833), and Illustrations of Taxation (1834). After 1832 she was a literary celebrity, and her friends included the economist Thomas Malthus and the writers George Eliot and Thomas Carlyle. A visit (1834-1836) to the United States made her a fervent abolitionist; British interest in this subject was first aroused by an article of hers in the Westminster Review. Her writings include Society in America (1837), Eastern Life, Present and Past (1848), Letters on the Laws of Man's Nature and Development (1851), and a condensed translation (1853) of Philosophie positive by the French philosopher Auguste Comte. She also wrote novels, tales for children, a history of England, and an autobiography.