Her later life

In 1839 Martineau became chronically ill and, by 1855 she was unable to leave her house. During this time, British slavery and apprenticeship had ended, and Harriet was determined to end slavery in the United Stated. She did not allow the illness to hinder her fight to end slavery in the United States. In 1857, despite her ill condition, she continued doing fancy work to earn money for the American abolitionists. Her last piece of embroidery fetched 100 dollars for “the cause” in America. She died after years of illness in1876, and had written her obituary, nearly twenty years before

There is no thorough bibliography of Martineau's reviews and journal articles. During her life, she wrote over 1500 columns, undertook pioneering methodological studies in what is now called sociology. She was forgotten, in sociology, literature, history, and journalism due to the male academic system (Hill 294-295). She is acknowledged as the "founding mother of sociology."

Sources:

Hill, M. R. n.d Women In Sociology "Harriet Martineau" p. 289-297

http://www.google.com/archivesearch?hl=en&q=harriet+martineau&um=1&ie=UTF-8&scoring=t&ei=9E_fSceOK6PvnQf566WiCQ&sa=X&oi=timeline_result&resnum=14&ct=title

http://www.brycchancarey.com/abolition/martineau.htm

http://www.websteruniv.edu/~woolflm/martineau.html