Harriet Martineau (1802-1876)
Harriet Martineau was a writer and social reformer. She came to prominence in the 1830s with her Illustrations of Political Economy. She moved to the Lakes in 1844, where Wordsworth advised her on her house The Knoll, Ambleside. She also included Charlotte Bronte and Charles Dickens among her friends. She wrote in opposition to slavery and for the improvement of the lot of women.
Her popular A complete guide to the English Lakes was first published in 1855. It gives a series of tours, from Windermere and Keswick. It also provides useful information on hotel prices, weather and plants.
F. Hall after G. Richmond, Harriet Martineau, London: The
Hogarth Press, 31 May 1851, lithograph, The Wordsworth Trust.