Anna Wheeler (author)
Anna Wheeler | |
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Rosina Bulwer Lytton |
Anna Wheeler (c. 1780 – 1848), also known by her maiden name of Anna Doyle, was an Irish born British writer and advocate of political rights for women and the benefits of contraception. She married Francis Massey Wheeler when she was "about 16" and he was "about 19", although the year is not known. They separated twelve years later. After his death she supplemented her income by translating the works of French philosophers.[1]
She was an acquaintance of Robert Owen, Jeremy Bentham, and Frances Wright. The philosopher William Thompson described his book Appeal of One Half of the Human Race, Women, Against the Pretensions of the Other Half, Men, to Retain them in Political, and Hence in Civil and Domestic, Slavery as the "joint property" of himself and her.
A staunch advocate of political rights for women and equal opportunities in education, she was friendly with French feminists and socialists.
Early life
Anna Doyle was the daughter of the Rev. Nicholas Milley Doyle, a
Wheeler read widely, taking in both the French
One of her brothers, Sir John Milley Doyle (1781–1856) was a commander of British and Portuguese forces in the Peninsular War and the War of the Two Brothers.[7]
Later life
Wheeler's husband died in 1820 and left her penniless, so she supplemented her income by translating into English the works of Charles Fourier and other French Owenite philosophers. She managed to spend her life travelling, staying with friends and promoting the news and ideas of the feminist movement. She lived principally in London, Dublin, Caen, and Paris.[1]
In London, she met Robert Owen, Jeremy Bentham and Frances Wright, and became close friends with William Thompson. In 1825, provoked by James Mill's dismissal of political representation for women, Thompson wrote Appeal of One Half of the Human Race, Women, Against the Pretensions of the Other Half, Men, to Retain them in Political, and Hence in Civil and Domestic, Slavery.[1][8] Thompson described the book as the "joint property" of himself and Anna Wheeler. They were both advocates of the benefits of contraception.[1]
Wheeler was one of the first women to campaign for women's rights at public meetings in England. She sometimes spoke at the
A staunch advocate of political rights for women and of equal opportunities in education, Wheeler was a friend of the French feminists and socialists
In 1833 William Thompson died, leaving Wheeler an
Publications
- William Thompson, Appeal of One Half of the Human Race, Women, Against the Pretensions of the Other, Men (1825); Thompson credited Wheeler with many of the ideas in this tract.
- Anna Wheeler, The Rights of Women (1830), published in The British Co-operator.
- Anna Wheeler, Letter from Vlasta (1833)
Death and descendants
Wheeler was forced to withdraw from public life in the 1840s due to ill health, and she died on 7 May 1848 in Camden, London, having refused invitations to take part in the revolution in France of that year.[1]
Wheeler's daughter
Earls of Lytton.One of Wheeler's great-granddaughters was the sister-in-law of the Prime Minister
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f g "Biography of Anna Wheeler at Women philosophers.com". Archived from the original on 5 January 2013. Retrieved 14 January 2011.
- ^ a b Edward Cave, John Nichols, eds., The Gentleman's Magazine, and Historical Chronicle (1834), p. 276: "Francis Massey Wheeler, Esq. of Lizard Connell, born in 1776, married Anne daughter of the Rev. Nicholas Milley Doyle (elder brother of General Sir John Doyle, Bart. G.C.B. and uncle of Major-General Welbore Ellis Doyle..."
- ^ Charles R. Dodd, 'Bulwer, 1st Bart' in The Peerage Baronetage and Knightage of Great Britain (1844), p. 59
- ^ Margaret McFadden, Golden Cables of Sympathy (1999), p. 136
- ^ Rosina Bulwer Lytton, Autobiography (MS.)
- ^ Deane, Seamus, Andrew Carpenter, and Jonathan Williams (2002). The Field Day Anthology of Irish Writing: Irish Women's Writing and Traditions. New York: New York University Press. pp. V, 68.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Henry Morse Stephens, Doyle, John Milley from Dictionary of National Biography at Wikisource
- ^ William Thompson, ed. by Dolores Dooley, Appeal of One Half of the Human Race, Women, Against the Pretensions of the Other, Men (1825; reprinted Cork University Press, 1997)
- ^ Carole Patema, The Sexual Contract, p. 160
- ^ "Ethical Society history page". Archived from the original on 18 January 2000. Retrieved 16 March 2012.
- ^ Jane Rendall, "Women's Politics in Britain 1780–1870: Claiming Citizenship", esp. 72 'The religious backgrounds of feminist activists' Archived 11 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Finsbury Circus Conservation Area Character Summary Archived 8 October 2006 at the Wayback Machine at cityoflondon.gov.uk
- ^ Dolores Dooley, Equality in Community (Cork University Press, 1996)
Further reading
- Bonnie S. Anderson, Joyous Greetings: The First International Women's Movement 1830–1860 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000)
- Margaret MaFadden, Golden Cables of Sympathy: the Transatlantic Sources of Nineteenth-Century Feminism (Lexington, Ky: University of Kentucky Press, 1999)
- Karen Offen, European Feminisms 1700–1795: a Political History (Stanford, Ca: Stanford University Press, 2000)
- Shulevitz, Judith (6 April 2018). "Forgotten Feminisms: An Appeal Against 'Domestic Despotism'". NYR Daily. The New York Review of Books.
- William Thompson, ed. by Dolores Dooley, Appeal of One Half of the Human Race, Women, Against the Pretensions of the Other, Men (1825, reprinted Cork, Ireland: Cork University Press, 1997)
- Anna Wheeler, "To the Editor of The Crisis", in The Crisis dated August 1833; reprinted in Marie Mulvey Roberts and Tamae Mizuta (eds.), The Rebels, Irish Feminists (London: Routledge / Thoemmes Press, 1995)
