All articles in Women in History
13th January, 2020 in Biography & Memoir, Women in History
Seven things you (probably) didn’t know about Anne Brontë
January 17 2020 was a special day for lovers of English literature – as it marked the 200th birthday of Anne Brontë. The youngest of the Brontë sisters, Anne was caught for a while in the shadow of her illustrious sisters Charlotte and Emily Brontë but she is finally being recogn…
23rd October, 2019 in Biography & Memoir, History, Women in History
Ask the author: Gemma Hollman on Royal Witches
When we think of witch trials throughout British history, it’s usually James VI and I or Matthew Hopkins who come to mind. Historian Gemma Hollman, however, proves that women were also subjected to accusations of witchcraft in medieval England in her book, Royal Witches – of…
11th October, 2019 in Biography & Memoir, History, Women in History
Charles Babbage and Ada Lovelace: The computer’s most passionate partnership
Is it really possible to imagine what life was like in the nineteenth century? I’m not sure it is: biographers are ultimately limited to taking a perspective on the past from their own contemporary position. They need to do their best to try to get into, and interpret, the mindse…
29th August, 2019 in History, Women in History
Q&A with the authors of A History of the World with the Women Put Back In
A History of the World with the Women Put Back In attempts to paint a picture of global history, with the women who have often been overlooked brought to the forefront. We spoke to the authors, Kerstin Lücker and Ute Daenschel, about the ideas and aims of the book. Who…
21st August, 2019 in Biography & Memoir, Society & Culture, Women in History
Medicine’s anti-thalidomide heroine
Dr Frances Kelsey, a doctor who was born in Canada but subsequently gained United States citizenship, is one of the heroines of the history of medicine. In early September 1960, while Frances was working at the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) she was given, as a…
14th August, 2019 in Military, Society & Culture, Women in History
Black women of World War One
With only a few exceptions, such as the Crimean war ‘doctress’ Mary Seacole, black women have been ‘written out’ of British history. This is true of the many books published about Britain and the First World War and yet it is possible to uncover life stories from this ‘hidden his…
26th July, 2019 in Military, Women in History
Women of the home front in pictures
Towards the end of the 1930s, war in Europe seemed inevitable and Britain began to prepare. This time its population would be on the front line and mass mobilisation would be needed on an unprecedented scale. Women would have to take on new civilian roles and join the armed force…
6th June, 2019 in Biography & Memoir, Local & Family History, Women in History
Tracing bigamy, dishonesty and intrigue in Victorian marriage records
One of the unforeseen and fascinating by-products of the internet age is the uncovering of a web of intrigue and downright dishonesty among the Victorians when it came to getting married. It was impossible for vicars or registrars to check that the information people gave on offi…
21st May, 2019 in Biography & Memoir, Women in History
Ask the author: Lyndsy Spence on society women
We continue to be fascinated by the glamour, glitz and gossip that made up the lives of the turbulent 20th century’s society women, and historian Lyndsy Spence has brought 10 of these compelling women back to life in her book, She Who Dares. We had a chat with Lyndsy to ask her a…
11th April, 2019 in Biography & Memoir, Women in History
In search of Sarah Wilson
I first met Sarah about 20 years ago in the issue of the St. James’s Chronicle for January 10, 1765. The paper had a story that ‘a genteel Woman’ turned up at the home of a farmer on the Hampshire/Surrey border. She told the farmer her name was Sarah Willsbrowson and that sh…
1st April, 2019 in Biography & Memoir, Society & Culture, Women in History
The land of the ‘free’: Criminal transportation to America
Not many people know that between 1718 and 1775 over 52,000 convicts were transported from the British Isles to America, mainly to Maryland and Virginia, to be sold as slaves to the highest bidder. It is reckoned that transported convicts made up a quarter of the British immigran…
25th March, 2019 in History, Women in History
When Victoria met Sarah
In April 1897, Queen Victoria met renowned actress Sarah Bernhardt while she was holidaying in France. But just what did the queen think of her? After six weeks of such fairly limited excitement, members of the Royal Household were excited to hear that the legendary Bernhardt had…