The Women of England

The Women of England, published in 1839, was an important work on the role and status of middle-class women, stressing the influence they could exert both on family life and society. She argues for the proper moral and intellectual training of girls, while accepting conventional restrictions on women.

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Sarah Stickney Ellis (1799–1872) was a prolific writer on female education and women's role in the world. She established a school at Rawdon House, Hertfordshire, to give girls an intellectual and moral training, as well as purely domestic skills, since as future mothers they would be the primary teachers and moulders of the next generation of society. The Women of England, published in 1839, was one of her most successful works, and was an important contribution to the debate on the position of women in society, particularly for the middle classes. Although she argues that women were equal to men, and morally superior, she does not question their legal and social subordination, but intends them to use their influence in their own sphere, and subtly, for the good of the family and society in general. For more information on this author, see http://orlando.cambridge.org/public/svPeople?person_id=ellisa