xt7qjq0stw34_5054 https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7qjq0stw34/data/mets.xml https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7qjq0stw34/data/1997ms474.dao.xml unknown archival material 1997ms474 English University of Kentucky The physical rights to the materials in this collection are held by the University of Kentucky Special Collections Research Center.  Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. W. Hugh Peal manuscript collection Harriet Martineau clipping text 43.94 Cubic Feet 86 boxes, 4 oversize boxes, 22 items Poor-Good Peal accession no. 11453. Harriet Martineau clipping 2017 https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7qjq0stw34/data/1997ms474/Box_58/Folder_87/Multipage27131.pdf undated section false xt7qjq0stw34_5054 xt7qjq0stw34 A OELEBRATED AUTHORESS.

was born at Norwich on the 10th of June, 1802.

Her family was of Huguenot extraction but had
adopted Unitarian views.

Like most persons of a high order of intellect, young

Harriet Martiucau at an early age resolved to walk alone,

and not in educational leading-strings, and practically

E‘IARRIET MARTINEAU, the well-known authoress,

taught herself history and politics while her brothers and

sisters were reading their “Goldsmith” and “Mrs. Mark-
ham.” Not that she had any lack of teachers or instructors ;
but from a child she resolved to practise the virtue of self-
reliance and to tit herself for life in earnest by such literary
exertions as sooner or later, she felt, would at least make her
independent.

A tendency to deafness showed itself early in her life.
About her twentieth year the deafness became conlirmed, and
she habitually from that time used an ear-trumpet.

She was barely of age when she appeared before the public
as an author. Her first work, however, was not one which
gave any great scope to literary talents, and must be regarded
rather as a proofof her internal piety, on the model of the
Unitarian school in which she had been brought up, than as
a criterion of her intellectual ability. It was entitled
“Devotional Exercises for the Use of Young Persons,” and
was published in lbflfil.

It was, however, the harbinger of along series of far more
important works which were destined to appear tln'neefmtli
in rapid succession. In 18:24 and the following year Miss
Martineau came before the public as the authoress of two
tales, entitled “Christmas Day,” and a sequel to it, “’l’ho
Friend ; ” these she followed up with several other stories all
more or less dealing with social subjects, and more especially
illustrating by argument and by example the rights and
interests of the working classes. The best known of these are
“ Principle and Practice,” “The Rioters,” “The Turn Out,”
“ Mary Campbell,” and “ My Servant Rachel."

About 1826, the young man to whom she was engaged,
died, and shortly afterwards Mrs. Martineau and her
daughters lost all their means by the failure of the house
with which their money was deposited. llarrict had to earn
her living, and being precluded by her deafness from teaching,
she took up authorship in earnest and toiled with incredible
industry.

In 1531 she published her ”Illustrations of Political
Economy.“ The sale—to the surprise of the publisher, who
had given her very disadvantageous terms—was innnediate
and enormous, and from that time her literary success was
secured. These “Illustrations” extended to above twenty
numbers; they were afterwards republished in a collective
form, and, having since been translated into French and
German, have helped perhaps more than any other work of
modern times to spread abroad, in other countries as well as
in our own, aknowledge of that science which till our own day
had been so little known and studied. These she followed up
by two similar seriesfiion cognate subjects—~“ Illustrations of
Taxation ” and “ Illustrations of Pooanvs and Paupcrs.“

In 1832 she removed to London, where she at once became
the fashion and where her ampiaintauce was eagerly sought.

In the year 1834 Harriet Martineau paid a visit to the
United States, whither she found that the fame of her social
writings had travelled before her. There she met with a most
cordial reception from the leaders of thought and action on
the other side of the Atlantic; and on her return to Europe
she published her comments on the social, political, and
religious institutions in the United States, under the title of
“Society in America,” and her observations on the natural
aspects of the Western World and its leading personages,

under that of “A Retrospect of Western Travel.” On re-
turning to England she found awaiting her plenty of otlcrs of
literary engagements from the leading publishers; but she
chose to throw in her lot mainly with Mr. Charles Knight,
who was then in the zenith of his high and well-earned
reputation, as the publisher of the Society for the [infusion of
Useful Knowledge. under the auspices of such men as Lord
Brougham, Grotc, 'l'hirlwall, and Lord John Russell. To
Charles Knight’s series of cheap and popular publications she
contributed a most useful little manual called “How to
Observe,” which she followed up by others, respectively
intended as guides for the llousemaid, the Maid-of—all-Work,
the Innly's-inaid, and the lh'essni:il;er.

The veracity of her Maid-i>f-all-\\'ork, it is said, led to a
widespread belief, which she regarded with some complacency,
that she had once been a mahLillian-work herself.

With the object, of lightening her literary labours by
variety, she wrote a series of tales for children under the title
of “The Playfellow.” At the same time she addressed to
children of a larger growth two novels of a very marked and
distinctive character, called “ Deerbrook” and “The Ilour
and the Man,” the latter of which works passed through
several editions.

About this time her health, which was never of the
strongest, appears to have sutl‘ered so much from the con-
tinual strain of her literary exertions, that she was obliged to
lay aside her pen, and land Melbourne olb-red and, we believe,
even pressed upon her acceptance a literary pension. lut
she was either too proud or too independent to accept, it;
aml possibly also even a higher motive came into play; at all
events in declining it she was largely intluum-od by a feeling
that “she could not mnscientiously share in the proceeds of
a system of taxation which she had l't'pl'ollilti'tl in her pub-
lished works." ller illness lasted several years; but she
found n’ieans to turn even sickness to account by writing and
publishing llt'l‘ “ Life in a Sielelloom,"——a book sue: ash-d by
her own experiences of sutl'ering, and, then-fore, appealing
powerfully to the s) mpathix-s of many of her readers.

In lS-i-l she lllliil‘I'Wi'lli a course of mesmerism, and in a few
months was restored to health. Iler recovery caused much
controversy. She herself had no doubt as to its reality or of
its being due to mesmcrism, and not unnaturally resented
the ineredulity of others.

On her recovery she removed to Amblcside, where she built
herself the house in which the greater part of her after life
was spent. [in lS-lo she varied the monotony of her quiet aml
laborious life by a visit to the East; and she recorded her
impressions of the scenes amt countries through whirh she
travelled in a book which she published in lots, and which is
still most justly ptipular~namely, “Eastern Life; its Past
and Present.”

Besides the works written by Miss Martineau which we
have already mentioned, a large number of instructive and
interesting books flowed from her pen. ller l":'>rcst and Game
Law Tales met with great success; so did her “llouschold
Education” and her Biographical Sketches form a volume
which has justly become one of the best known of her works.
She is also to be remembered for her “ Iistory of England
during’ the Thirty Years" Peace,” a book which is to be admired
for its singular clearness and the studied impartiality of its
views.

The weight of increasing years began to tell upon her, and
after a long illness, in or about the year 1565, she almost
entirely withdrew from literary engagements. She lived,
however, till 1876. '

Her long and busy life bears the consistent impress of two
leading characteristins—industry and sincerity. Her work
was invariably sound, and its motive invariably respectable.
She,had the gift of seeing clearly, and of giving clear cx-
pression to what she had to say. She was neither ad' coverer
nor an inventor, but she was admirable as a. populariser.

er next eiorts were me
ustrations of Political Economy," which,
although they had been rejected by the Society
for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, and
several publishers, proved a most decider.l suc—
CC‘<. “ illustrations of'l‘axation ” and “ Poor
Law and l’aupers” appeared next. and in
1837 she gave to the world her “Socict‘v I
America," which was the result of a \‘iSlE. to
the United States. “Dccrbrook " and ”'l'hc
{our and the Man " were the subsequent p‘ro-
ductions of her pen, but although two excel—
lent novels, they did not attain great popu-
arity. Between the years 1839—44 her health
was exceedingly delicate, but on her rccovcrv
she resumed her pen with her former energy:
and produced “ Life in the Sick Room,“
borcst and Game l.a\v 'l'alcs,” ”The llillovv
and the Rock,” and “ Eastern Life, Past and
Present,” which lastcoutained her travelling
inipre. srons ofSyria and the l'lolv Land. Mr:
(:harles Knight liaviin: been conipelled to re-
..h the composition of the "History of
rland during the 'l‘liirtv Your! l’ea . "
M .s Martineau undertoelctthc task, and \ is
generally allowed to have produced a most in-
teresting and valuable contribution to histo—
rical literature. She next published, in con-
pinctronuith Mr. Atkinson. a volume contain—
ing opinions relative to religious belief, which
astonished the world by lulu},r dir ‘tlv opposite
to those she had hilln. I" displayed. .A‘vinitit
1856 she \vent to reside at a plea llli. coil.
sllchad built for herself at Amblc ixlc. l -
pen_was in;.‘~:t v-umlovctl in the service of the
“Westminster" and Miller reviews, and in
occasional contributions to the daily and
weekly press. ler last work of importance
was a condensed reproduction of “Comté’s
POSlthC l’hilo:ophy.” n. at Norwich lune 12
I802. , ' :