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9781611462159

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Recent years have seen a revival of interest in Harriet Martineau (1802-76), a prolific writer and influential thinker. A born lecturer, Martineau promoted liberal social views on 'hot topic' issues like slavery, suffrage, and free trade. Some credit her with founding empirical sociology. But though she knew and interacted with London's intellectual elite, this volcanic figure was soon to be forgotten. To forestall this possibility, Martineau asked American Maria Weston Chapman to write a memorial volume that would supplement Martineau's own two-volume Autobiography (1877). Chapman agreed, and in the memorial volume she traces Martineau's chronology, from infancy onward, and includes many personal details. The volume was uneven and poorly written, and was not reprinted with the two volumes Martineau had herself written. Still the volume is interesting, revealing Martineau's thoughts and including previously unpublished material. This modern edition has extensive notes and a useful bibliography. Those interested in 19th-century British history and feminism will find it a rich window on Whig thought. Those wanting a broad assessment should seek out A. K. Webb's Harriet Martineau, a Radical Victorian (1960) or Valerie Sanders's Reason over Passion: Harriet Martineau and the Victorian Novel (CH, Feb'87). Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty. CHOICE

Recent years have seen a revival of interest in Harriet Martineau (1802–76), a prolific writer and influential thinker. A born lecturer, Martineau promoted liberal social views on 'hot topic' issues like slavery, suffrage, and free trade. Some credit her with founding empirical sociology. But though she knew and interacted with London's intellectual elite, this volcanic figure was soon to be forgotten. To forestall this possibility, Martineau asked American Maria Weston Chapman to write a memorial volume that would supplement Martineau's own two-volume Autobiography (1877). Chapman agreed, and in the memorial volume she traces Martineau's chronology, from infancy onward, and includes many personal details. The volume was uneven and poorly written, and was not reprinted with the two volumes Martineau had herself written. Still the volume is interesting, revealing Martineau's thoughts and including previously unpublished material. This modern edition has extensive notes and a useful bibliography. Those interested in 19th-century British history and feminism will find it a rich window on Whig thought. Those wanting a broad assessment should seek out A. K. Webb's Harriet Martineau, a Radical Victorian (1960) or Valerie Sanders's Reason over Passion: Harriet Martineau and the Victorian Novel (CH, Feb'87). Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty. * CHOICE *

Recent years have seen a revival of interest in Harriet Martineau (1802-76), a prolific writer and influential thinker. A born lecturer, Martineau promoted liberal social views on 'hot topic' issues like slavery, suffrage, and free trade. Some credit her with founding empirical sociology. But though she knew and interacted with London's intellectual elite, this volcanic figure was soon to be forgotten. To forestall this possibility, Martineau asked American Maria Weston Chapman to write a memorial volume that would supplement Martineau's own two-volume Autobiography (1877). Chapman agreed, and in the memorial volume she traces Martineau's chronology, from infancy onward, and includes many personal details. The volume was uneven and poorly written, and was not reprinted with the two volumes Martineau had herself written. Still the volume is interesting, revealing Martineau's thoughts and including previously unpublished material. This modern edition has extensive notes and a useful bibliography. Those interested in 19th-century British history and feminism will find it a rich window on Whig thought. Those wanting a broad assessment should seek out A. K. Webb's Harriet Martineau, a Radical Victorian (1960) or Valerie Sanders's Reason over Passion: Harriet Martineau and the Victorian Novel (CH, Feb'87). Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty. * CHOICE *

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Deborah Anna Logan is professor English at Western Kentucky University.

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