Martineau, Harriet

Martineau, Harriet
(1802-1876)
   Novelist and economist, b. at Norwich, where her f., descended from a French family, was a manufacturer. From her earliest years she was delicate and very deaf, and took to literary pursuits as an amusement. Afterwards, when her f. had fallen into difficulties, they became her means of support. Her first publication was Devotional Exercises for Young Persons (1823). Becoming interested in political economy, she endeavoured to illustrate the subject by tales, of which two were The Rioters and The Turn-out. Later she pub. a more serious treatment of it in Illustrations of Political Economy (1832-4), Poor Law and Paupers (1833), and Illustrations of Taxation (1834). About this time she went to London, and was regarded as an authority on economic questions, being occasionally consulted by Cabinet Ministers. Among her books of travel are Society in America (1837), and Eastern Life, Present and Past (1848), which she considered her best book: in it she declared herself no longer a believer in revelation. She also wrote two novels, Deerbrook (1839), and The Hour and the Man (1840), also a number of books for children. Perhaps her most important work is her History of England during the Thirty Years' Peace, 1816-46, which appeared in 1849. She translated Comte's Philosophy (1853), and pub. a collection of letters between herself and Mr. H.G. Atkinson On the Laws of Man's Nature and Development, which encountered severe criticism. In addition to her separate publications she wrote innumerable articles for newspapers, specially the Daily News, and for periodicals. In 1845 she settled in the Lake District, where she died.

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  • Martineau, Harriet — born June 12, 1802, Norwich, Norfolk, Eng. died June 27, 1876, near Ambleside, Westmorland English essayist, novelist, and economic and historical writer. She became prominent among English intellectuals of her time despite deafness and other… …   Universalium

  • Martineau, Harriet — (1802 76) Harriet Martineau was effectively the first woman sociologist. Martineau, who was English, wrote the first systematic treatise in sociology, carried out numerous cross national comparative studies of social institutions, and was the… …   Dictionary of sociology

  • Martineau,Harriet — Mar·ti·neau (märʹtn ō), Harriet. 1802 1876. British writer whose Illustrations of Political Economy (1832 1834) explained the theories of Thomas Robert Malthus, John Stuart Mill, and David Ricardo. * * * …   Universalium

  • Martineau, Harriet — (12 jun. 1802, Norwich, Norfolk, Inglaterra–27 jun. 1876, cerca de Ambleside, Westmorland). Ensayista inglesa, novelista y escritora sobre temas económicos e históricos. Se transformó en una figura prominente entre los intelectuales ingleses de… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • MARTINEAU, HARRIET —    English authoress, born at Norwich; a lady with little or no genius but with considerable intellectual ability, and not without an honest zeal for the progress of the species ; she was what is called an advanced thinker, and was a disciple of… …   The Nuttall Encyclopaedia

  • Martineau — Martineau, Harriet …   Dictionary of sociology

  • Harriet Martineau — (* 12. Juni 1802 in Norwich, Norfolkshire; † 27. Juni 1876 bei Ambleside, Westmoreland, Grafschaft Cumbria) war eine britische Schriftstellerin, die vor allem in gemeinverständlicher Art die reformbewußten politischen und naturwissens …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Harriet Martineau — en 1834 …   Wikipedia Español

  • Harriet Martineau — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Martineau. Harriet Martineau …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Harriet — (as used in expressions) Martineau, Harriet Monroe, Harriet Stowe, Harriet Beecher Harriet Elizabeth Beecher Tubman, Harriet Wilson, Harriet E. Harriet E. Adams …   Enciclopedia Universal

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