ABSTRACT
The third child born into the Wollstonecraft family was Henry Woodstock. Aside from one mention of “Henry” to her sister in 1787, Wollstonecraft never discussed her brother, and neither do most of her biographers. Some biographies think that he had an apprenticeship to an apothecary-surgeon, but that is all that is said about him. In 1774, the family moved to Hoxton, the site of three insane asylums. A confinement would explain why Wollstonecraft was so silent about this brother, in striking contrast to her loquacity about every other family member, especially in her letters to Everina and Bess. Her letters were also full of anxiety about financial issues, but she never referred to having to pay for the care of Henry. In all likelihood, Henry was immured as a pauper to Hoxton House for the duration of his life. With the belief that insanity was transmitted through bloodlines, people tended to conceal family members who were mentally ill; however, every member of the Wollstonecraft family, including Mary, had mental health problems. These issues motivated her to write The Wrongs of Woman, set primarily in an insane asylum.
