My first exposure to the history of nursing was the Ladybird book Florence Nightingale, in the ‘Adventure from History’ series. Like many primary-school children before and since, I was beguiled by Nightingale’s dedication to her cause. The only depiction of…
Author: Lisa Berry-Waite
Women and Madness in the Early Romantic Novel: Injured Minds, Ruined Lives – Deborah Weiss
“We are an Injured Body”: Finding Inspiration in a Class on Jane Austen My new book, Women and Madness in the Early Romantic Novel: Injured Minds, Ruined Lives (Manchester University Press), originated in an undergraduate class I taught in spring…
Inspired and Outraged: The Making of a Feminist Physician – Alice Rothchild
My memoir, Inspired and Outraged: The Making of a Feminist Physician, is both a chronicle of my life in the 1950s in a first-generation Jewish family, coming of age in the 1960s, and my embrace of feminism as I encountered…
Hidden history and vital identity with a First World War servicewoman’s suitcase of memory – Robert MacKinnon and Denby Humphries
Scanning Auntie Emmie’s attic with torchlight, a time-worn leather suitcase caught Susan’s eye. Emmie would regularly retrieve the suitcase from the attic, but its contents were never shared. Opening it up carefully, Susan was presented with material traces of a…
Resurrecting Dina Dobson: Archaeologist, Educator and Radio Broadcaster – Jan Lewis
During my PhD research on the role of professional archaeologists on BBC radio, one of the first files I accessed from the BBC Written Archives at Caversham was that of archaeologist Dina Dobson. I quickly became a little obsessed with…
The ‘Secret’ Children’s Books of Marie Stopes – Morgan M. Miller
Content warning: this blog post includes discussions of eugenics and racism which some readers may find upsetting. This blog post is a brief introduction to my research on Marie Stopes’ children’s books written under the pseudonym ‘Erica Fay’ between 1926…
Queenship, Disability, and Beauty: Queen Alexandra, 1844 – 1925 – Lucy Haigh
Queen Alexandra of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Empress of India (1844 -1925) is a royal figure often disregarded in historical literature. Although studies surrounding Alexandra’s husband, King Edward VII, are plentiful, there is comparatively little written…
Unnamed Revolutionary women in France, the UK, and Sri Lanka – Aruni Samarakoon
Content Warning: This article includes discussions of revolutionary politics and examples of violence against women in Sri Lanka. Reader discretion is advised. This blog post explores the fundamental questions of why and how women in the Global South and North…
Sophie Scholl: Female Resistance in Nazi Germany – Emily Harrington
The White Rose resistance movement began in Nazi Germany and ended in a shock trial where three of its members were executed. This blog post focuses on Sophie Scholl, one of the members of the movement who was executed by…