In 1938 Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence, one of the leaders of the Women’s Social & Political Union (WSPU), published her autobiography, My Part in a Changing World. In it she noted, “My thanks are due also to my secretaries, Miss Esther Knowles…
Category: Blog and News
News items of interest to WHN Members
Hurrem Sultan as the first haseki of the Ottoman Empire by Zhara Adal
During the sixteenth to seventeenth century, the Ottoman Empire saw a change in its political dynamic as Imperial women began to influence the decisions of the Imperial court.[1] 1534-1683 is known as the ‘Sultanate of Women’ as Imperial women within…
12th January 2022: Defining the Ideal Woman, 2000BCE
Join us for the first seminar of our Spring series, featuring Dr. Jana Matuszak speaking on ‘Defining the Ideal Woman, 2000BCE: A Perspective from Sumerian Didactic Literature’! Wednesday, 12 January 2022 at 4pm GMT Register on Zoom here. ‘Defining the…
Elizabeth and Mary: Royal Cousins, Rival Queens by Anna Turnham
British Library Exhibition 8 October 2021 – 20 February 2022 Image: Signature of Mary in letter from Mary, Queen of Scots to Elizabeth I, 8 November 1582, British Library, Cotton MS Caligula C vii, f. 81v 1]…
Finding Ethel Davis (1865-1948) by Clare Wichbold
When I began researching Hard Work – But Glorious: Stories from the Herefordshire Suffrage Campaign, I was keen to find images of the women I was writing about. Their thoughts and words were important but being a huge fan of…
“Shall we break this law?” Kitty Marion: An Actress who became a Pioneer of Birth-Control by Twisha Singh
“Shall we break this Law” stared me in the face from the cover of the “Review”. “Law” indeed! That was no law, but a tyranny forced upon voteless women buy a “morality” fanatic, Anthony Comstock, in 1887, and so far…
Disabled Women in Remploy – by Andy Holroyde
Remploy was created by the British Government towards the end of the Second World War to provide sheltered employment – a term used to describe workplaces dedicated to employing disabled people in an environment ‘sheltered’ from the competitive pressures of…
‘Blind Lady Guardian’: the radical life of Edith Maurice Vance, by Madeline Goodall
Edith Maurice Vance (née Emma Morris Vince) was a freethinker and radical whose life was animated by her involvement with innumerable progressive movements. Secretary of the National Secular Society for over three decades, Vance was also on the Executive Committee…
CfP: Voluntary Action History Society 7th International Conference
Call for Papers: Voluntary Action History Society 7th International Conference “Voluntary Action in Changing Times: Creating History or Repeating It?” Liverpool, UK, 13–15 July 2022 Submission deadline 31 December 2021 Call for papers and panel sessions The Voluntary Action History…