author
Ellice Hopkins
1836–1904
A forceful Victorian reformer and writer, she pushed public debate on prostitution, sexual double standards, and the protection of vulnerable girls. Her work made her one of the best-known voices in Britain’s late-19th-century social purity movement.
1 Audiobook
About the author
Born in Cambridge on October 30, 1836, Ellice Hopkins was the daughter of mathematician and geologist William Hopkins. She became a writer, lecturer, and campaigner whose work blended religious conviction with practical social reform.
In the 1870s and 1880s, she helped organize efforts aimed at protecting women and girls, including the Ladies' Association for the Care of Friendless Girls. She also established the Soldier's Institute at Portsmouth and later co-founded the White Cross Army, a movement that called on men as well as women to live by the same moral standards.
Hopkins is remembered as a prominent figure in Victorian debates about prostitution, sexual ethics, and social responsibility. Even when readers disagree with parts of her message today, her campaigns remain important for understanding how reformers tried to challenge the sexual double standards of her time. She died on August 21, 1904.