Ireland dramatizes the problems caused by absentee landlordism, the grinding poverty of Irish peasant farmers, the depletion of the soil through subdivisions and lack of crop rotation, and the criminal element fostered by hopeless poverty. Education and gender issues are also central to this tale. Demerara depicts slavery on a West Indian plantation and earned Martineau notoriety as an abolitionist sympathiser in America. Cinnamon and Pearls represents the exploitation of Cingalese pearl divers and cinnamon harvesters by British colonials. This tale articulates concerns about the morals and ethics of human exploitation and its links with Christianity and capitalism. Finally, Dawn Island (1845) takes place on a South Seas island, where a primitive culture is confronted for the first time by white English traders. Written to protest import tax on foreign grain, the tale promotes world-wide free trade, which was, for Martineau, the motivation behind Imperial enterprises. Volume 2; Eastern Life, Present and Past (1848); The statement for which Martineau was labelled an ‘infidel’ was her assertion that Middle Eastern civillization has a rich and varied history in terms of culture and religion, pre-dating the claims Christian Europe has made for its own pre-eminence. Her sociological perspective characterises this narrative, as does her affinity for history, women’s issues, philosophy and theology. Martineau’s commentary on harems has been cited by modern scholars of women’s studies and Middle-Eastern studies. Volume 3; Letters from Ireland (1852); selected Daily News articles from her series Endowed Schools of Ireland (1858); Letters from Ireland is a sociological study of the people, culture and institutions of Ireland as seen by Martineau during her 1852 tour as a Daily News correspondent. This is supplemented by her twelve-part Endowed Schools series, a selection of articles addressing ongoing issues in contemporary Ireland. Volume 4; History of British Rule in India (1857); This work outlines events culminating in the 1857 Indian uprising. Martineau’s concern is to provide the general public with a history of India, in relation to the British presence there. She warns that England stands to ‘lose’ India unless it alters its approach to dealing with the country, claiming that India must be governed for the Indians. She emphasises however, that India is not really a colony, and criticizes Britain’s tendency to exploit India’s wealth for its own material gain. Bridging the cultural gaps separating the two countries is, she argues, of paramount concern in order to improve and preserve this complex relationship. Volume 5; Suggestions towards the Future Government of India (1858) with supplementary Daily News articles on the aftermath of the 1857 ‘Mutiny’; Suggestions towards…is a consideration of the role played by the British East India Company in the recent political developments in India. Martineau argues that the current proposal to reduce or eliminate the Company’s power would further compromise this fragile political relationship.