P M Heath

The Works of Mrs. Trimmer: (1741-1810) P M Heath

This study examines the works of Mrs. Sarah Trimmer, late 18thC educationist and philanthropist. It is structured around her published works, which were mostly textbooks and teaching manuals written for use in the educational establishments and domestic schoolrooms of the "higher" ranks of society, and in the charity schools and institutions of the lower. It surveys the history of the Brentford schools and schools of industry, and of the SPCK-subsidized textbooks that formed the basis of her 1792 Plan of Appropriate Instruction for the Children of the Poor. It is argued that the retention of these latter texts in mid-19thC elementary classrooms worked to the detriment of their author's future standing. Trimmer's failure to concern herself with an increasingly illiterate adult population is contrasted with her contribution to the training and status of teachers and governesses. Her periodicals for adults, a neglected but valuable source of social history, are examined. This publication will be of considerable use to scholars and students in the field of the history of education.