Directed primarily at a juvenile audience, Priscilla Wakefield wrote on a wide range of educational topics, including science and travel. As the aunt of the prison reformer Elizabeth Fry and as the grandmother of Edward Gibbon Wakefield, the colonial statesman, Wakefield was known for her philanthropic work, particularly the setting up of the penny savings bank. She was also one of a number of female writers – including Hannah More and Catherine Macaulay – who addressed the problems inherent in contemporary female education.
Born in Tottenham in 1751 to Daniel Bell (a coal merchant) and Catherine Barclay, Wakefield was one of five children, three of whom survived into adulthood. Having originally come from Westmoreland in …
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