Carin Sophie Adlersparre, known under the pen-name Esselde (born Leijonhufvud; 6 July 1823 – 27 June 1895)[1] was one of the pioneers of the 19th-century women's rights movement in Sweden.

She was educated privately at home, and then spent two years at a finishing school, the fashionable Bjurström Pension (Bjurströmska pensionen) in Stockholm.

In 1859, Sophie Adlersparre and Rosalie Roos founded Home Review (Tidskrift för hemmet), the first women's magazine in Scandinavia, with the financial support of salon hostess Fredrika Limnell.

The primary focus of Adlersparre's and her magazine's social activism was women's access to education and the professions, which would allow them to be financially independent.

Sophie Adlersparre's petition led to a debate in parliament, and finally a reform in 1864 allowing women to study at the Academy on the same terms as men.

In 1885–1887, Adlersparre was a member of the Girl School Committee of 1885 (Flickskolekommittén 1885), which was assigned by the government to investigate and suggest reforms to the female education system.

Formally, the women's rights supporter Hans Hildebrand was made the official chair of the FBF, because Adlersparre believed that it would be taken more seriously if it was headed by a man.

[1] Adlersparre felt that it was important for men to be a part of the work for equality, and in addition to women such as Ellen Anckarsvärd (referred to as her successor in the Swedish women's rights movement), Ellen Fries, Gertrud Adelborg and Fredrika Limnell, she welcomed men such as Hans Hildebrand and Gustav Sjöberg.

[1] The purpose of the organization was to "work for a healthy and calm progress in elevating women morally and intellectually as well as socially and economically".