Ladies of Influence: Women of the Elite in Interwar Britain (Allen Lane History S.) - Hardcover

Williams, Susan A

9780713992618: Ladies of Influence: Women of the Elite in Interwar Britain (Allen Lane History S.)

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0713992611 ISBN 13: 9780713992618

Publisher: Allen Lane, 2000

Little known stories of seven extraordinary women who through class, marriage and money had a huge impact on Britain and the Empire between the wars. Women such as Lucy Baldwin who waged a ceaseless campaign to save women from unnecessary pain in childbirth and Stella, Marchioness of Reading who set up the Women's Vountary Service which did such invalable work during WW2. Glamorous eccentric Nancy Cunard escaped to Paris where she set up The Hours Press and first published Samuel Beckett and governor's wife, Lady Joan Grigg, who set up the first Kenyan maternity services. All heroic women with wonderful stories to tell.

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Synopsis:

In the 1920s, when the franchise was extended to put women in Britain on an equal footing with men, it was still to be many years before women held positions of real power in their own right. But other channels of influence had always been open to some - those women of the social and political elite. Because of their class background, wealth and connections, such women were free of many of the restrictions placed on their sex. Indeed, were more powerful in many ways than most men. "Ladies of Influence" tells the fascinating stories of seven of these women and of their particular impact on Britain between the wars. All seven occcupied the highest stratum of social and political life, through birth and marriage, and all of them sought to influence public life. Some relied on less traditional channels, while others took up the challenge of the new political reality for women. Edith, Lady Londonderry was a great Tory hostess who, through an unlikely but tender relationship with the Labour prime minister Ramsay MacDonald, wielded a considerable influence over the course of national affairs.

About the Author:

A. Susan Williams is a lecturer in the History and Philosophy Department of the Institute of Education, London University. As well as being joint editor of the award-winning Penguin Book of Modern Fantasy by Women she has also written a number of books including Women & Childbirth in the Twentieth Century (1997).

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