This book examines the political lives and contributions of Margaret Bondfield, Ellen Wilkinson, Barbara Castle, Judith Hart and Shirley Williams, the only five women to achieve Cabinet rank in a Labour Government from the party’s creation until Blair became Prime Minister. Paula Bartley brings together newly discovered archival material and published work to provide a survey of these women, all of whom managed to make a mark out of all proportion to their numbers. Charting their ideas, ch...

Paula Bartley’s Queen Victoria examines Victorian Britain from the perspective of the Queen. Victoria’s personal and political actions are discussed in relation to contemporary shifts in Britain’s society, politics and culture, examining to what extent they did – or did not – influence events throughout her reign.Drawing from contemporary sources, including Queen Victoria’s own diaries, as well as the most recent scholarship, the book contextualises Victoria historically b...

Ellen Wilkinson was a key radical figure in the 20th century British socialist and feminist movement, a woman of passionate energy who was involved in most of the major struggles of her time.Born in October 1891 into a working-class textile family, Wilkinson was involved in women's suffrage, helped found the British Communist Party, led the Labour Party's anti-fascist campaign, headed the iconic Jarrow Crusade and was the first female Minister of Education.In this lively an...

In 1907, a lesbian feminist vegetarian stepped into male history. She was one of nineteen female Finnish politicians, the first women in the world to be elected to the ruling body of any country. These women sparked a chain reaction that would ignite across the globe. More – many, many more – were to follow.Trailblazers is the story of some of the most extraordinary women – from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe – who trailblazed their way into a privileged male-only space: electora...

In this well-structured, fluent and lively account, Paula Bartley uses new archival material to assess whether Pankhurst should be seen as a heroine or a tyrant, a conservative or a progressive.Emmeline Pankhurst was the most prominent campaigner for the women's right to vote and was transformed into a popular heroine of the early twentieth century. Early in life she was attracted to socialism, she grew into an entrenched and militant suffragette and ended up as a Conservative Part...

This book serves as an introduction to the extraordinary diversity of women’s activism. Paula Bartley's original research is supported by a range of writing to provide a powerful impression of the actions taken by groups of women from across the social and political spectrum, making the book invaluable to both students and interested readers. These women set out to make a difference to their locality, their country and sometimes the world. The story of women’s activism embodies stimulating...

Prostitution: Prevention and Reform in England, 1860-1914 is the first comprehensive overview of attempts to eradicate prostitution from English society, including discussion of early attempts at reform and prevention through to the campaigns of the social purists.Prostitution looks in depth at the various reform institutions which were set up to house prostitutes, analysing the motives of the reformers as well as daily life within these penitentiaries.This ...