Born in 1870 in Chiaravalle, Italy, Maria Montessori became a doctor at a time when female graduates in Italy provoked outright scandal. At around age 30, she was struck by the work being done with children from the slums of the San Lorenzo, and realised what she wanted to do with her life: change the school, and therefore the world, through a new approach to the child's mind. In spite of resistance, she established the influential Montessori Method, now practiced throughout the world. Based on original sources soruces written by Montessori herself, this is a thorough, nuanced portrait of an influential figure.
