Own Work
Except for a few articles in the Unitarian journal Monthly Repository, Taylor published little of her own work during her lifetime. Taylor did, however, read and comment on all the material produced by John Stuart Mill. In his autobiography, Mill claimed Harriet as the joint author of most of the books and articles published under his name. He added, "when two persons have their thoughts and speculations completely in common it is of little consequence in respect of the question of originality, which of them holds the pen." Together, they wrote "Early Essays on Marriage and Divorce", published in 1832.
A letter written by Mill in 1854 suggests Taylor was reluctant to be described as joint author of Mill's books and articles. "I shall never be satisfied unless you allow our best book, the book which is to come, to have our two names on the title page. It ought to be so with everything I publish, for the better half of it all is yours".
J. S. Mill called her a valuable contributor to much of his work, especially On Liberty.
Read more about this topic: Harriet Taylor Mill
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