Elizabeth Fry

by June Rose

The life of the Quaker prison reformer.

Genres: Biography, History, Womens

218 pages, Hardcover

First published May 22, 1980

About the author

June Rose spent five years exploring the private world of Dr Barnardo's, matching archive material with the memories of staff and children which is documented in her book For the Sake of the Children. Her first excursion into the charitable world, Changing Focus, was written to mark the centenary of the R.N.I.B. Since then her two acclaimed biographies, The Perfect Gentleman, the life of James Miranda Barry, a nineteenth-century woman doctor who masqueraded for forty years as a man, and Elizabeth Fry, the life of the Quaker prison reformer, reflect her concern with social questions.

Reviews

[Paula Harris]

A very inspiring lady, full of courage, admiration and determination!.

[James Tidd]

I thought that June Rose did an amazing job in doing this biography. Relying a lot on Fry's journals and various other journals of family and friends, Fry did wonders in an age where it was frowned upon for a woman to assert herself in the family home, let alone to people in authority. But assert herself she did and her works in making conditions in women's prisons more tolerable.

As well as the above mentioned, she was a mother to eleven children and a Quaker minister. This remarkable woman of saintliness and virtue aroused much hostility and admiration. Her own Friends (Quakers) found her worldliness disquieting and not all of the penal reformers approved of what was certainly unorthodox ways and there was no doubt that her family felt neglected, only one of her daughters remained in the Society of Friends. As for Betsy, as she was known, she was tortured by self doubt, anxiety and torn between her family demands, her beliefs and her own attraction to the high life, her love of drink was one of those things that she loved.

[Beth]

This was an interesting portrait of Elizabeth Fry. The author made the effort to write it from primary sources, most importantly Elizabeth's unedited journals. This gave a much more rounded picture of her than the sanitized version from the version of her journals edited by her daughters. It is inspiring how much energy she had. Many women today will relate to the tension between family and career, although of course the majority of us do neither to the same extent as her. The book also taught me a lot about Quakerism.

The only negatives are the book can sometimes get repetitive. The author could probably have trimmed some of the travel details, because the trips started to blur into each other for me. She also repeated some of her points about Elizabeth's character more often than necessary. Overall I enjoyed reading it though.

[Laurence Christie]

Inspiring read!

Thank you for this inspiring amazing account of a truly enlightened woman. Her energy and her belief in raising the consciousness of us all to assist humanity where needed-- is just as necessary now as in her lifetime. Well written

[Thomas Rosenthal]

Detailed biography of a pioneer for the rights of women.

The author Rose defines an accidental hero in human rights and social welfare. She uses personal diaries to find the childhood keys that led Ms Fry to bold achievements while also explaining the great sacrifices women must make to be leaders.

[Sarah Nimmo]

Brings her to life

Refreshing to read a biography of her as very much a real person, appealing but flawed, rather than just a ‘Quaker Saint’.

[Sidney Smart]

Riveting

I am drawn to stories about strong and independent women who have accomplished great things. This book fit the bill