For the past 170 years, historians have presented Harriet Taylor Mill as a footnote in John Stuart Mill's life. Most of her works have never been transcribed from the manuscripts held at the London School of Economics. This volume gives Harriet Taylor Mill her own voice. Readers may assess for themselves the importance and influence of her ideas on women's issues such as marriage and divorce, education, domestic violence, and suffrage. Those reading her ideas on ethics, religion, arts, historical figures, and socialism will be able to note the overlap of her ideas (many written in the 1830s) with her more famous husband's important works, On Liberty and Utilitarianism, which were published 25 years or more later.
Harriet Taylor Mill's writings are filled with passionate and practical understanding of the world. Readers will learn about Victorian cures for ailments from tuberculosis to stomach "derangement", and the intricacies of travel in Europe during this period. Her correspondence with John Stuart Mill demonstrates her willingness to open her heart, revealing her lust, anger, and curiosity.
