Dorothea Beale of Cheltenham

"Dorothea Beale of Cheltenham" by Elizabeth Raikes is a story about Dorothea Beale, a key player in the push for better education for woman around the middle of the 20th century. It looks at her younger years and schooling, leading up to her big role in starting and running schools, most importantly the Cheltenham Ladies’ College. The story shows what life and education were like in Victorian England, especially for women. We learn about her childhood in 1831 and her family, which really shaped her interest in education. The beginning shows the problems young women had back then when they wanted to learn more but society held them back. It shows that she came from a smart family that made her love learning, which helped her later help women get better educations and start the Ladies’ College, where she became very important. The book tells of her hard work to make education better for women and how her own life experiences affected her.