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Unhappy Child, troubled adolescent, dissatisfied wife, a woman at odds with convention.
This was Elizabeth Fry, known to her family and friends as Betsy. In 1816, at the age of 36, when she had been a minister of the Society of Friends for five years, Betsy walked alone into the hell of Newgate Gaol.
The transformation she wrought among it wretched female inhabitants propelled her onto the stage of world history.
In the following years she transformed her generation's perception of offenders, and helped create a professional prison service. She was also a catalyst in the long struggle that eventually saw women achieving recognition in the world beyond family and home.
