Harriet Martineau (/mrtno/; 12 June 1802 27 June 1876) was an English social

theorist and Whig writer, often cited as the first female sociologist.[1]
Martineau wrote many books and a multitude of essays from a sociological, holistic,
religious, domestic, and perhaps most controversially, feminine perspective; she also
translated various works from Auguste Comte.[2] She earned enough to be supported
entirely by her writing, a rare feat for a woman in the Victorian era. A young Princess
Victoria, (later Queen Victoria), enjoyed reading Martineau's publications. The queen
invited Martineau to her coronation in 1838an event which Martineau described, in great
and amusing detail, to her many readers.[3][4] Martineau said of her own approach to
writing: "when one studies a society, one must focus on all its aspects, including key
political, religious, and social institutions". She believed a thorough societal analysis was
necessary to understand women's status under men.
The novelist Margaret Oliphant said "as a born lecturer and politician she [Martineau] was
less distinctively affected by her sex than perhaps any other, male or female, of her
generation."[2] While she was commonly described as having a masculine intellect and
body, Martineau introduced feminist sociological perspectives into her writing on otherwise
overlooked issues such as marriage, children, domestic and religious life, and race
relations.[1]