Margaret Ascham (''nee'' Harleston; – ), was a sixteenth century English writer. Margaret was the daughter of Sir Clement Harleston. She was married to the humanist writer

Roger Ascham Roger Ascham (; 30 December 1568)"Ascham, Roger" in '' The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th edn., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 617. was an English scholar and didactic writer, famous for his prose style, his pr ...

, who was tutor to the young

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...

. Margaret was born in

South Ockendon South Ockendon is a town, former civil parish and Church of England parish within the Thurrock borough in Essex in the East of England, United Kingdom. It is located on the border with Greater London, just outside the M25 motorway. The area to t ...

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

. She first married a man named Howe, who died about 1552. She then married

in 1554. They had at least three sons, Giles, Dudley and Thomas (or Sturmius by another account), but may have had as many as six children together. One child, a son, was lost in his infancy during the early years of their marriage. Roger was considerably older than Margaret and of ill health. He died in 1568, leaving behind his unfinished manuscript ''The Scholemaster''. Margaret then took it upon herself to complete the manuscript and prepare it for publishing. She raised the funds and the book was successfully published in 1570. ''The Scholemaster'' is a treatise on the correct way to teach

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

composition, and also concerns the whole learning experience. It was reprinted in 1571 and 1589. It was edited by

James Upton Corporal James Upton VC (3 May 1888 − 10 August 1949) was a British Army soldier and an English recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British ...

in 1711 and in 1743, by

John Eyton Bickersteth Mayor John Eyton Bickersteth Mayor (28 January 1825 – 1 December 1910) was an English classical scholar, writer and vegetarianism activist. Biography Early life and education Mayor was born at Baddegama, British Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) the son ...

in 1863, and by

Edward Arber Edward Arber (4 December 183623 November 1912) was an English scholar, writer, and editor. Background and professional work Arber was born in London. From 1854 he 1878 he worked as a clerk in the Admiralty, and began evening classes at Ki ...

in 1870. Unusually for the period, Margaret signed her own name in the book's preface, possibly to ensure that her own work in the manuscript would be known. It has been suggested that her intention was to introduce "a broad audience to her editorship." She is credited with preserving her husband's work, which may not otherwise have been published—which, according to George Markham Tweddell, "would have been a great loss to the world had we been deprived of honest Roger's ''Schoolmaster''." Margaret was remarried in 1569 to her neighbour Thomas Rampston. They had two daughters together. Margaret was careful to ensure that her children were well educated and well placed. Margaret died sometime between 1590 and 1592.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ascham, Margaret 16th-century English writers 16th-century English women writers 1530s births 1590s deaths People from South Ockendon English women editors