Present Condition of the Female Sex; with Suggestions for its Improvement, which came out under the radical publisher Joseph Johnson. Although this is concerned with how women could become financially independent, it takes a traditional view of their role in society. Wakefield examined women's prospects for employment in the modern world in light of Adam Smith's writings, and supported broader education for women. However, she thought better education for women would make them better wives, rather than advocating education for its own sake. Wakefield was widely known as a writer of moral guides for children. Her early publication, Juvenile Anecdotes, Founded on Facts, was successful, and she went on to publish other books of the same nature and of a more advanced character, dealing with science and travel. She was the first woman to write scientific books for children. Wakefield had considerable knowledge of botany and natural history, and in 1796 published the popular An Introduction to Botany, in a Series of Familiar Letters, which was translated into French in 1801 and reached an eleventh edition in 1841. It was illustrated with a series of uncredited full-page illustrations showing plant parts in detail. It was followed by An Introduction to the Natural History and Classification of Insects, in a Series of Letters. By the time she died, Wakefield had written two dozen books, many having appeared in several editions and been translated into foreign languages. Philanthropy Wakefield was an active philanthropist, promoting education, maternity provision and savings banks for the poor in Tottenham. She formed the Lying-in Charity for Women in 1791. It supplied poor pregnant women with midwifery care and an initial supply of linen and baby clothes as well as a small amount of money. It was supported by annual subscription and continued into the 19th century. In 1792, Wakefield co-founded the School for Industry, which taught girls reading, writing, sewing, knitting and arithmetic. In 1798. she founded the first "frugality bank" in England, to help those on low incomes save money. Members paid according to age a monthly sum that would give them sick pay and a pension at 60. Women and children were encouraged to save what they could of their income. Similar savings banks were set up nationally, but they were effectively nationalised when the Post Office Savings Bank was founded in 1865. Legacy Priscilla Wakefield House, a nursing care home in Seven Sisters, London