Anna Wheeler (author)
Anna Wheeler | |
|---|---|
| Born | c. 1780 |
| Died | 7 May 1848 (aged 67–68) Camden, London, England |
| Nationality | Anglo-Irish |
| Occupation(s) | Writer and supporter of women's rights |
| Spouse |
Francis Massey Wheeler
(m. 1795; sep. 1807) |
| Children | Rosina Bulwer Lytton |
Anna Wheeler (c. 1780 – 1848), also known by her maiden name of Anna Doyle, was an Irish-born British writer and advocate of political rights for women and the benefits of contraception. She married Francis Massey Wheeler when she was "about 16" and he was "about 19", although the year is not known. They separated twelve years later. After his death she supplemented her income by translating the works of French philosophers.
She was an acquaintance of Robert Owen, Jeremy Bentham, and Frances Wright. The philosopher William Thompson described his book Appeal of One Half of the Human Race, Women, Against the Pretensions of the Other Half, Men, to Retain them in Political, and Hence in Civil and Domestic, Slavery as the "joint property" of himself and her.
A staunch advocate of political rights for women and equal opportunities in education, she was friendly with French feminists and socialists.