Priscilla Wakefield (1751 - 1832)

Priscilla Wakefield

Priscilla Wakefield, née Priscilla Bell, was a British Quaker feminist, philanthropist, and writer.

Wakefield was well-read, enthusiastic about education and learning, as well as the economic emancipation of women, political issues of the day, and topics of science, history, and geography. She was one of many late eighteenth-century English women writers who began to demand women's empowerment. Her book on feminist economics, Reflections on the Present State of the Female Sex with Suggestions for its Improvement, was published in 1798. She was also widely known for her moral and instructive writings for children and young people. Wakefield participated in Quaker campaigns for the abolition of slavery and prison reform. She also founded England's first savings bank, a maternity hospital, and the Women's Welfare Club.