Title page from Harriet Martineau’s Autobiography, 2 vols.

Harriet Martineau’s Autobiography, 2 vols.

Thinking she was close to death Martineau wrote her autobiography in 1855 but lived for another 20 years. She recounts her activities in various mid-19th century reform movements, her struggle to become a professional writer, and her work in popularizing the ideas of free market political economy.