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Beatrice Research Paper

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Dominique Miller
Dr. Martin
British Literature
November 7, 2016
Bibliography: Beatrice Webb
Beatrice (Potter) Webb lived many lives: debutante, social researcher, writer, political hostess and networker, poverty campaigner, pioneer of an independent Labour Party and, while in her old age polemicist and champion for the Soviet Union. Born into a mid-Victorian upper middle class family, with a life of comfort and luxury, she turned her back on the world to become a social researcher, and gradually came to align herself with the labour movement. One of her nieces commented that she had spent the income derived from her father’s fortune trying to destroy the society on which it was founded on. In the years before the First World War Beatrice prepared …show more content…

Beatrice was born in Gloucester, England. Beatrice was the daughter of railway magnate Richard Potter and Laurencina Heyworth. She was the eighth of ten children born, nine or the ten children were females while the only male passed away in infancy. Her father was a wealthy railway entrepreneur. Since her parents traveled all the time she was with them causing her to receive the minimal education. She was very smart and read most of the books in her father’s library on philosophy, science and mathematics, and she enjoyed discussions with her father's visitors. Her mother died while Beatrice was fairly young, she dies in 1882. Beatrice and her mother’s relationship was not easy: Laurencina mourned the death of the son that passed, Beatrice described her childhood as “creeping up in the shadows of my baby brother’s birth and death.” Laurencina said “Beatrice is the only one of my children who is below the average in intelligence.” Beatrice's early life was one of privilege, and she inherited a private income upon the death of her father. Before her parents passed away they were very wealthy and they shared their wealth with all of the kids but mostly Beatrice since she was always around to help them. Beatrice always said “self-sacrifice for the good of the community was the greatest of all human characteristics (2016, Sidney and Beatrice

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