If ever there was an example of a woman that embodies how to, ‘breakthebias,’ the theme of International Women’s Day this year, it was that of Annie Besant.
Annie Besant (nee Wood) was born on 1 October 1847 in London. She grew up with her mother, who was widowed when Annie was five, and with an ‘Auntie’, Miss Marrayat, who had offered to support her education having discovered the family’s declining financial means since the passing of Annie’s father.
Miss Marrayat, ‘had a perfect genius for teaching’, says Annie in her autobiography. The educator had a strong influence on her development, ‘No words of mine can tell how much I owe her, not only of knowledge, but of that love of knowledge which has remained with me ever since as a constant spur to study.’
Her love for writing was nurtured with Auntie Marrayat; she fondly describes writing letters about their walks or stories they had read rather than mundanely working through spelling and grammar books. A fondness which translated into numerous books, articles, pamphlets and other writings throughout her lifetime.
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