Priscilla Bell

Priscilla Wakefield, nee Priscilla Bell (1751–1832) was an English Quaker philanthropist who wrote on feminist economics and scientific subjects, as well as producing children's fiction.

Priscilla Bell was born into a family in Tottenham, then a village north of London. Her father was Daniel Bell of the nearby village of Stamford Hill, Middlesex; his wife Catharine was the granddaughter of the Quaker theologian Robert Barclay. She was one of several sisters; Catherine Bell married John Gurney of Earlham Hall and had many remarkable children, the best-known of whom is probably Elizabeth Fry.

In adult life, Priscilla was a member of the Society of Friends, and conformed to their religious practice, but did not observe their restrictions in regard either to dress or to abstinence from amusements.

She married Edward Wakefield (1750–1826), a London merchant, and had three children. Writing to support her family financially, she wrote seventeen books in two decades. She was one of many female English writers at the end of the eighteenth century who began to demand a wider life for women. Charities which she founded included a maternity hospital, a Female Benefit Club, and a Penny Bank for children, which developed into England's first savings bank.

She had two sons and a daughter. The two sons were Edward Wakefield (1774-1854) and Daniel Wakefield. The daughter, Isabella (d. 17 Oct. 1841), married Jeremiah Head, a mechanical engineer of Ipswich. Her grandchildren included Edward Gibbon Wakefield, Daniel Bell Wakefield, William Hayward Wakefield, Arthur Wakefield and Felix Wakefield.

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