Of French Huguenot extraction, Harriet Martineau was more rigorously and formally educated than most women of her time. Her father was a textile manufacturer in Norwich and did much to ensure that she obtained a thorough education. She was, however, deaf and sickly. Her father's death in 1826 forced her to support her mother and herself by needlework and writing for the Globe on economic topics such as machinery and labor. She was not aware of the work of Adam Smith or David Ricardo during this period, but was rather precociously and independently interested in economic topics. It was only after reading Jane Marcet's popular works around 1827 that she became aware of the existence of a burgeoning literature on political economy.
Her famous 1834 book was effectively published as a serial of pamphlets on economic topics. Unlike Marcet, she did not attempt to "smother it" in stories, but to expose it with a series of systematic (and thus relatively dull and plodding) narratives. Her greatest influence, if any, was James Mill --whose order of topics she basically followed. The book was a success and gave her financial security and literary celebrity. Martineau was thoroughly "Ricardian" in her economics and "necessarianist" in her philosophy (which saw education as the salvation of society). She was also a doctrinaire supporter the wages-fund theory.
Although ill and deaf, Martineau continued writing indefatigably, promoting notorious causes such as the abolitionist movement and the establishment of the Poor Laws. Although pro-laissez-faire and pro-direct taxation, she also defended the right to unionize and strike (rare for most political economists of the time). Even then, liberals such as John Stuart Mill "shuddered" at the way Martineau translated Ricardian political economy into an apologist doctrine.
Age emboldened her: her now-classic 1837 Society in America was vigorous in its critique of American society. Her anti-religious 1851 treatise was even more controversial. In 1839 she tried her hand at a novel (Deerbrook) and then went on to history (1841, 1849) and even hypnotism (1844). Her 1853 translation of Auguste Comte's Cours de philosophie positive is largely responsible for bringing his ideas to Great Britain. After the 1830s, Martineau would return only occasionally to her youthful passion, political economy.
Major works of Harriet Martineau
Resources on Harriet Martineau
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