The Women’s History Network blog
In 1906, the Anglo-Indian journalist Olive Malvery published The Soul Market, a book about women at the sharp end of exploitation. In her chapter about dress-makers, she wrote of a ‘large and fashionable establishment with a ground floor show-room and…
My grandmother has lived in Britain for sixty five years, but occasionally she transports us back to St Kitts. We listen in awe as she recalls defeating my grandfather in horse races, diving into the sea in search of discarded…
Kat Perry I was recently lucky enough to be sent a copy of Remarkable Women of the Second World War: A Collection of Untold Stories by Victoria Panton Bacon to review. Split into two sections of ‘British Memories’ and ‘Stories…
During the UK’s second national lockdown I underwent the process of researching and writing my dissertation from the comfort of my damp ridden university bedroom. During this period of restriction and, what at times felt like voluntary home arrest, I…
The sun shone down on the town of Congleton, Cheshire, on International Women’s Day, 2022. That was the date chosen by Elizabeth’s Group, of which I am Patron, to unveil the magnificent life-size statue of Elizabeth Wolstenholme Elmy (1833-1918), Victorian…
I study late Georgian (early nineteenth century) material culture that is broadly ‘political’ in nature: referencing an event, campaign, or political person and looking at how individuals used them to engage with political ideas. One group of sources that I…
Kathlyn Oliver is best known for her suffrage activism and advocacy for the rights of domestic workers. Oliver originally came from a middle-class background, with a father in the civil service.[1] However, after his death Oliver entered employment as a…
In my work on non-heterosexual Jewish women’s lived experiences and practices in contemporary England and Israel, I have been struck by the many stories that have referenced involvement with NGOs and activism (especially feminist, LGBTQ+, and climate change groups). To…
Registration is now open for this exciting conference being held at the Mile End Institute, Queen Mary University of London, from the 15-17 September 2022. See the full programme here and register here. 2022 marks a series of historic anniversaries…