Mary Higgs

Born in 1854 in Wiltshire, Mary Higgs was an English writer, feminist, and social reformer. She studied at Girton College, Cambridge, and later became known for her close involvement in local government and public welfare, especially in the town of Oldham.

Higgs is most associated with her investigations into poverty. Rather than writing from a distance, she sometimes disguised herself and entered workhouses and lodging houses herself, then used those experiences in her books and public campaigning. That approach gave her writing an unusual immediacy and helped draw attention to the treatment of poor women.

Her best-known work is Glimpses into the Abyss, and she also wrote on women, social conditions, and public life more broadly. She died in 1937, but her work still stands out for its combination of activism, observation, and clear moral purpose.