Mary Hennell

She was the eldest daughter of the Unitarian family of James and Elizabeth Hennell (born Marshall).

[1] The sisters are considered to be the basis for the fictional Meyrick family in George Eliot's 1876 novel Daniel Deronda.

After his sister's marriage to Bray, an enthusiastic sceptic, her brother Charles Hennell reviewed the evidences for Christian beliefs with the aim of parrying his brother-in-law's arguments.

The result of the examination was that he became a sceptic himself, and in 1838 published an Enquiry concerning the Origin of Christianity in defence of his conclusions.

This was titled An outline of the various social systems and communities which have been founded on the principle of co-operation and this was later made into a publication in its right in 1844.