Principles and Practice: the Orphan Family
Book details
- Title
- Principles and Practice: the Orphan Family
- Publication year listed
- 1827
- Format
- Public domain eBook
- Reading access
- Free online reader; no registration required
- Source record
- View on Archive.org
About this book
Principles and Practice: the Orphan Family
Author: Harriet Martineau (1802-1876)
Year: 1827
This book was written in the earliest part of the nineteenth century, and its author was only in her twenties when she wrote it. Basically the story illustrates how at that time an ordinary decent family, perhaps with its finances already a bit stretched with the effort of educating several children, would be completely ruined if the wage-earner were to die. If there was any income at all it might be reckoned in tens of pounds a year, and the greatest economy would have to be exercised to make this go round. Anyone in the family group who was able to earn a little did their best to do so. For instance one of the girls might be able to draw attractively, and could sell some of her pictures; another might be able to create nice useful items; another might be able to teach the younger children, thus avoiding the expense of sending them to school. It was lucky if there was a wealthy friend or relative who was prepared to pay for the education of one of the boys, to the stage where he could in turn become a wage-earner. Miss Martineau followed this book up with several more on such politico-economic themes, and indeed made her name in this way by the time she was thirty. As so often wit