In 1720, leading politician Robert Walpole confided in his colleague Earl Cowper that he “did everything” by the Duchess of Kendal and that she was “in effect as much Queen of England as ever any was.”[i] The Duchess was Melusine…
Category: Blog
The Women’s History Network blog
‘But why this here and now only when I loved I knew’: Remembering Kathleen Raine (1908-2003)
‘If hate were love, if love were hate, It could not make our tale untold…’[1] Few poets have the honour of providing the title for an international bestseller. Even fewer watch the words they wrote grace subsequent film posters and…
22nd June 2022 Seminar: Dr Hannah Telling – “Villainous Harpies”: Women, everyday violence, and justice in Scotland, 1850-1914
22nd June 2022 with Dr Hannah Telling, a seminar focusing on Women’s Violent Crimes in Scotland! Join us for this seminar our Summer Series, featuring Dr Hannah Telling with the paper titled: ‘“Villainous Harpies”: Women, everyday violence, and justice in…
Who was Joan Conquest? – Michelle Johansen
Miss Conquest is a fully qualified nursing sister, a Ju-jitsu practitioner and a crack revolver shot. She can ride, drive anything on wheels or legs, swim, fence, fly and climb.[1] Joan Conquest (1883-1941) was an adventurous character who possessed courage…
Getting to Know Ireland’s Revolutionary Republican Women – Andrew Himmelberg
On Easter Sunday 27 March 1921, two young women from County Cork, Margaret Crowley and Margaret O’Neill, set out on a bicycle journey across the county to deliver an important message to their Irish Republican Army (IRA) comrades who were…
The ‘Splendid’ Mrs McCheyne and the East London Federation of Suffragettes – Jane McCrystal
In 2018 I carried out some research at Tower Hamlets Local History Library and Archive for the Women’s Hall Exhibition, an event staged to showcase the incredible work of the East London Federation of Suffragettes (ELFS). Set up by Sylvia…
25th May 2022 WHN Seminar: Medieval Women’s History
25th May 2022 with Genevieve Caulfield and Dr Katherine Weikert, a duet focusing on Medieval Women’s History Join us for this duet focusing on the Medieval in our Summer Series, featuring PhD Candidate Genevieve Caulfield, with the paper titled: ‘”Styles…
Dora Metcalf: Twentieth Century Mathematician and Entrepreneur – Mary Monro
Dora Metcalf (née Greene) was a mathematician and entrepreneur. Her story is one of a courageous response to loss and dauntless resilience in the face of entrenched opposition to women in business. She was born in India, the eldest of…
#MeToo for the Middle Ages: Believing medieval women – Gabrielle Schwarzmann
Content warning: this post contains discussion of sexual violence Eleven years after it was founded by survivor and activist Tarana Burke, the #MeToo movement exploded in 2017 following the exposure of numerous sexual-abuse allegations against Harvey Weinstein. The movement, energised…