Emily Anne Eliza Shirreff (3 November 1814 – 20 March 1897) was a pioneer in the movement for the higher education of women and the development of the Froebelian principles in England.

Biography

Family

She was born on 3 November 1814, the second of four daughters and two sons born to Rear-Admiral William Henry Shirreff (1785–1847) and Elizabeth Anne Shirreff. She was very close to her sister Maria Shirreff (later Grey), with whom she collaborated with on educational and writing projects.

Education

Emily and her sisters were educated from an early age by a French

governess A governess is a woman employed as a private tutor, who teaches and trains a child or children in their home. A governess often lives in the same residence as the children she is teaching; depending on terms of their employment, they may or ma ...

called Adele Piqet, who had a limited education. In the 1820s the family lived in France where the father was stationed. Emily was a bright scholar at an early age but after suffering from a severe illness at the age of seven she had to relearn the alphabet. Emily suffered from ill health for the rest of her life. At the age of 14 she was sent to a

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. They have existed for many centuries, and now extend acr ...

in Paris but the rough conditions at the school affected Emily's poor health and she was removed a year later. In 1829, her father took command of HMS ''Warspite'' and moved his family to Avranche in

Lower Normandy Lower Normandy (, ; ) is a former administrative region of France. On 1 January 2016, Lower and Upper Normandy merged becoming one region called Normandy. Geography The region included three departments, Calvados, Manche and Orne, that cover ...

. In 1831 her father was appointed to

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

and did not think it his daughters needed another governess, bringing their formal education to an end. Maria and Emily continued to improve their education through 'self-improvement' by travelling extensively to France, Spain and Italy, reading in their father's extensive library, and became acquainted with many intellectuals of the age through their father's contacts.

Early writings

Emily and Maria first began to write together when Mrs Shirreff brought her daughters back to England in 1834. Their first publication, ''Letters from Spain and Barbary'', was published in 1835. Though Maria was married in 1841, the two sisters continued to write together and anonymously published a romantic novel, ''Passion and Principle''. In 1850, they published ''Thoughts on Self-Culture Addressed to Women'', in which they disapproved of traditional girls' education which only trained women to be dependent on men and not teach them to think for themselves. In 1858, Shirreff published her first major solo work ''Intellectual Education and its Influence on the Character and Happiness of Women'', which further highlighted Emily's belief that women should not be educated as 'man's subordinate'.

Educational work

In the 1870s, the sisters actively turned their attention to promoting education. Emily helped raise funds for the

North London Collegiate School North London Collegiate School (NLCS) is a private day school for girls in England. Founded in Camden Town, it is now located in Edgware, in the London Borough of Harrow. Associate schools are located in South Korea, Jeju Island, Dubai, Vietnam ...

and continued to write papers on women's education. She was the second mistress of

Girton College, Cambridge Girton College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was established in 1869 by Emily Davies and Barbara Bodichon as the first women's college at Cambridge. In 1948, it was granted full college status by the un ...

succeeding

Charlotte Manning Charlotte Manning (''née'' Solly; 30 March 1803 – 1 April 1871) was a British feminist, scholar and writer. She was the first head of Girton College. Family Charlotte Solly was born in 1803, daughter of merchant Isaac Solly of Leyton, Ess ...

who served for only a term. Shirreff remained connected to the college until her death. Emily was one of the founders of the Froebel Society and was its president from 1876 until her death. She also wrote many articles and booklets on

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cen ...

education. Emily was also the vice-president of the Parents' National Union. In 1871, with her sister, Mary Gurney,

Henrietta Stanley, Baroness Stanley of Alderley Henrietta Maria Stanley, Baroness Stanley of Alderley (née Dillon-Lee; 21 December 1807 – 16 February 1895), was a British Canadian-born political hostess and campaigner for the education of women in England. She was a founder and ben ...

, and the support of HRH Princess Louise, Emily founded the National Union for the Improvement of the Education of Women of all Classes, (also known as the Women's Education Union). Emily was heavily involved in the work of the union as its honorary secretary and co-editor of its journal, ''the Journal of the Women’s Education Union''. The Union also found the Girls' Public Day School Company in 1872, which opened secondary schools for girls which offered the same educational opportunities as boys' schools, and still operates today as the

Girls' Day School Trust The Girls' Day School Trust (GDST) is a group of 25 independent schools, including two academies, in England and Wales, catering for girls aged 3 to 18. It is the largest group of independent schools in the UK, and educates 20,000 girls each yea ...

. She was very active on the Council of the company and was made a vice-president in 1896. Emily was also involved in the Union's foundation of an evening college for women and the teachers training and registration society.

Other interests

The Chivalry of the South by Emily Shirreff

Emily was also interested in other areas of research and supported

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Several instances occurred in recent centuries where women were selectively given, then stripped of, the right to vote. In Sweden, conditional women's suffra ...

. Her opposition of the continuation of the use of slaves in southern US was aired in her 1864 paper, ''The Chivalry of the South''. In 1874 she joined the Women's Peace and Arbitration Auxiliary, (later the London Peace Society). She also wrote a biographical sketch of

Henry Thomas Buckle Henry Thomas Buckle (24 November 1821 – 29 May 1862) was an English historian, the author of an unfinished ''History of Civilization'' and a strong amateur chess player. He is sometimes called "the Father of Scientific History". Early life a ...

, who had been a close friend, for a posthumous edition of his works in 1872.

Later life

Emily had suffered from ill health all her life and became less active towards the end of her life She died in London on 20 March 1897 and was buried in Brompton cemetery.

Publications

* Shirreff, Maria Georgina; Shirreff, Emily (1841), ''Passion and Principal''. Edited by Captain Schmier. London. * Grey, Maria Georgina; Shirreff, Emily (1850), ''Thoughts on Self-Culture Addressed to Women''. London * New editions 1862 and 1863. * * * * *Shirreff, Emily (1870)
"College Education for Women,"
''

The Contemporary Review ''The Contemporary Review'' is a British biannual, formerly quarterly, magazine. It has an uncertain future as of 2013. History The magazine was established in 1866 by Alexander Strahan and a group of intellectuals intent on promoting their v ...

''. * * * * * * * * * * *

Published sources

* * * * *

References

External links

Biography of Emily Shirreff from the Froebel web online resource
*Philippa Levine, 'Shirreff, Emily Anne Eliza (1814–1897)’, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, Oct 2005 Accessed 27 Nov 2007
index entry

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shirreff, Emily Anne Eliza English non-fiction writers English feminists 1814 births 1897 deaths Burials at Brompton Cemetery Mistresses of Girton College, Cambridge English romantic fiction writers Women of the Victorian era English educational theorists Presidents of the Girls' Day School Trust 19th-century English novelists 19th-century English women writers