Elizabeth Fry (née Gurney, 1780-1845), English prison reform...

Hammer

£250

Elizabeth Fry (née Gurney, 1780-1845), English prison reformer, social reformer and philanthropist. An 1839 Holy Bible, Camridge, Printed John W. Parker, signed & inscribed by Elizabeth Fry to her nephew John Gurney (1809-1856) and his wife Laura Elizabeth Gurney (née Pearse, 1824-1899) on blank leaf preceding title page "John and Laura Elizabeth Gurney. With the best wishes of their very affectionate aunt Elizabeth Fry. 5th Month 1842.", double column, thick 4to, contemporary full black leather gilt worn, all edges gilt.

Elizabeth Fry was born in Gurney Court, off Magdalen Street, Norwich, into a prominent Quaker family, the Gurneys. Her childhood family home was Earlham Hall, which is now part of the University of East Anglia. Her father, John Gurney, was a partner in Gurney's Bank. Her mother, Catherine, was a member of the Barclay family, who were among the founders of Barclays Bank. Fry was a major driving force behind new legislation to improve the treatment of prisoners, especially female inmates, and as such has been called the "Angel of Prisons". She was instrumental in the 1823 Gaols Act which mandated sex-segregation of prisons and female warders for female inmates to protect them from sexual exploitation. Fry kept extensive diaries, in which the need to protect female prisoners from rape and sexual exploitation is explicit. She was supported in her efforts by Queen Victoria and by Emperors Alexander I and Nicholas I of Russia and was in correspondence with both, their wives and the Empress Mother. In commemoration of her achievements she was depicted on the Bank of England £5 note, in circulation from 2002 until May 2017.