Mary Atkinson Maurice (1797–1858) was a British teacher, educationist, and writer. With her encouragement, Mary's brother F. D. Maurice, founded

Queen's College, London Queen's College is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private day school for girls aged 11–18 with an adjoining prep school for girls aged 4–11 located in the City of Westminster, London. It was founded in 1848 by theologian and social ...

, of which she was a generous sponsor.

Life

Mary Atkinson Maurice was born at Kirby Cane, Norfolk, to Priscilla (née Hurry) and Michael Maurice, Unitarian minister and schoolmaster. She was educated by her father, and was gifted in languages and literature. As she grew older, she began to help teach her younger sisters, and was regarded as extremely practical. The family moved to

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

in 1825, where Maurice–helped by her sister, Priscilla–opened her own school to help her family financially. Inspired by the ideas of educational reformer

Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi (; ; ; 12 January 1746 – 17 February 1827) was a Swiss pedagogue and educational reformer who exemplified Romanticism in his approach. He founded several educational institutions both in German- and French-speaking ...

, she had spent time at a Pestalozzian-based school in Cheam, run by

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and Charles Mayo. Now an Anglican, hers was a church school. It prospered, later prompting a move to Reading, where Maurice and her sister Esther ran the school for ten years. When Esther married in 1844, Mary gave up the school and moved to London. In 1829, Maurice anonymously published an educational manual titled ''Aids to Development'', intended for mothers. In 1837, she published ''Conversations on the Human Frame, and the Five Senses''. In its preface she wrote:

In commencing a course of lessons on Natural History, the question presents itself, What is the right plan to be pursued? Is not the proper starting point the wonderful construction of our own frame, together with the curious instruments by which the mental powers are called into exercise; and should not this study always precede that of the habits and manners of other animals?

Once in London, Maurice became active in the work of the Governesses' Benevolent Institution (GBI), on whose committee her brother Frederick Denison Maurice, sat. The Institution aimed to improve the situation of governesses, and Mary Atkinson Maurice believed that education (leading to greater respect for the profession) was key to this. In 1847, she published ''Mothers and Governesses'' and two years later ''Governess Life: its Trials, Duties and Encouragements'' (1849). Maurice urged governesses to take up opportunities for education, promoting Queen's College, Harley Street, which had opened in 1848 under the auspices of the GBI. Her brother was its principal. She wrote that: "Every young person ought to study, with the idea that she will in all probability have to teach what she is now acquiring." She became a generous subscriber to Queen's College, as well as supporting the work of another of the GBI's initiatives, the Asylum for Aged Governesses. Mary Atkinson Maurice died of

peritonitis Peritonitis is inflammation of the localized or generalized peritoneum, the lining of the inner wall of the abdomen and covering of the abdominal organs. Symptoms may include severe pain, swelling of the abdomen, fever, or weight loss. One pa ...

, in

Great Yarmouth Great Yarmouth ( ), often called Yarmouth, is a seaside resort, seaside town which gives its name to the wider Borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England; it straddles the River Yare and is located east of Norwich. Its fishing industry, m ...

, on 4 October 1858. She was buried in St Nicholas's Church.

Bibliography

* ''Aids to Development, Or, Mental and Moral Instruction Exemplified in Conversations Between a Mother and Her Children'' (1829) * ''Open and See; Or, First Reading Lessons'' (1830) * ''A Gift for Mothers'' (1833) * ''Memorials of Two Sisters'' (1833) * ''The Gospel manual; or, A brief abstract of the contents of every chapter in the four Evangelists'' (1834) * ''Conversations on the Human Frame and the Five Senses'' (1837) * ''Christian Counsel; or, a Farewell letter to a Sunday or weekly scholar'' (1837) * ''Glenrock Sunday School: or, Lessons illustrative of a simple method of conveying religious instruction to the children of the poor'' (1840) * ''The Strange Planet: And Other Stories'' (1844) * ''Mothers and Governesses'' (1847) * ''The Chartist's Friend'' (1848) * ''Governess Life'' (1849) * ''The Country and London'' (1849) * ''The Crystal Palace; a Sequel to “The Country and London”'' (1852) * ''The Patriot Warrior: an historical sketch of the life of the duke of Wellington'' (1853) * ''Arthur, Or, The Motherless Boy'' (1857)

References

External links

Works by Mary Atkinson Maurice
at the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

Mary Atkinson Maurice
on

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{{DEFAULTSORT:atkinson maurice, mary 1797 births 1858 deaths 19th-century British women educators 19th-century British women writers British Anglicans People from South Norfolk (district) Schoolteachers from Norfolk Writers from Norfolk