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In this episode Caroline and Nicola discuss the multi-talented Clemence Dane who cannot be limited to just one title - she did write, extensively and well. An actor, teacher, sculptor, broadcaster, screenwriter and popular social woman with many talented friends which reflected her own creativity. She was also a talented artist - a self-portrait and portrait of Noel Coward are shown on this page.
She was the first woman screenwriter to win an Oscar. She was also awarded a CBE. She was great friends with Noel Coward and was extremely famous at the beginning of the 20th Century and thoroughly deserves to be celebrated and remembered. Her essays, The Women’s Side, are all available online here.
‘The invisible woman’ of the early 20th Century, she is a fascinating character and we hope you enjoy this episode in which we discuss our objections to the definitions of high, middle and low brow attitudes to art.
Her work is still published on Kindle and so is accessible for all.
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Caroline and Nicola talk with Paul Kerensa, comedian, broadcaster, writer and host of podcast The British Broadcasting Century about this clever one act comedy. As they discuss, the play could not deal with political matters explicity on the radio at that time - and yet, in a comedic way it deals with matters of class and gender along with societal expectation in an amusing and entertaining way.
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10 Clowning Street by Joan S. Dugdale is published in the Metheun Drama Book of Suffrage Plays . It tells the story of an anti-suffragist Prime Minister - who we do not meet immediately because he is taking a relaxing salt bath - and his brilliant plan to stop the suffragettes by introducing a compulsory National Work for Women scheme under which all single women over 21 are to work full-time. Satisfied that these weary women will have no energy left to pester him anymore for the vote, he sends his daughters out to work in typical working women’s roles. Only, his plan does not quite work out the way that he had hoped. His previously anti-suffrage daughters having led a privileged and comfortable life until their work experience, come back with a rather different view, which was not part of the plan - just as the Prime Minister has a visit from a hack in search of a scoop.
This is a really interesting use of humour in the suffrage campaign. In this episode, we discuss the play, the humour within it and its use in the suffrage movement.
We mention an academic study called Jokes for Women which is a PhD thesis on how humour was used by the suffragettes - which is interesting as humour was often used against them as illustrated by some of the art on this page.
We also discuss the interesting life of Joan S. Dugdale 1881-1975 who campaigned for equality throughout her career and was, herself, a suffragette who was arrested and imprisoned for her actions. Hear what the judge thought of her rebellion and of some of the causes that she later went on to support.
We hope you enjoy this episode of She Wrote Too. Please do recommend us to others.
We are on social media on Instagram and Facebook where you can find additional information on women writers of the past.
We look forward to posting our next episode on 1st July.
She Wrote Too.
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An early feminist novel set in South Africa in 1883, this book is an interesting and unusual literary work. It is a generic hybrid in that in some ways it is new woman fiction whilst also having many other elements such as Dickensian farce, spiritual musings, gothic elements and melodrama. It follows three central characters from their childhood in South Africa to their adults lives exploring their development and ideas as well as their love interests and encounters with other interesting characters on the way.
In this podcast we discuss the themes of the novel, a little of Schreiner’s life and attitudes and some of the issues that arise in the book.
We do give a warning that there is mention of child death in the discussion. We also mention the issue of the racist terms that were used in South Africa at the time - although these are not explicitly said.
We hope you enjoy this podcast. For extra content, please do join us on social media on Facebook and Instagram for more information about women writers that have gone before us.
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In this episode of She Wrote Too, we welcome a special guest, novelist and booktuber, Katie Lumsden to discuss Amy Dillwyn’s The Rebecca Rioter.
Katie wrote The Secrets of Hartwood Hall a gothic novel set in Victorian England. Her new novel, The Trouble with Mrs Montgomery Hall, is available for pre-order now and will be out in July.
We discuss the novel, The background to the Rebecca Riots and a little of Amy Dillwyn’s life. Katie mentions an article Professor Kirsti Bohata. ‘A Queer-Looking Lot of Women’: cross-dressing, transgender ventriloquism and same-sex desire in The Rebecca Rioter. The Victorian Review, 44(1), 113-130:
A very interesting and informative site on Dillwyn and this book can be found on the Literary Atlas of Wales.
The Rebecca Rioter, published in 1880, is a novel based on the notorious Rebecca Riots in south and west Wales in the early nineteenth century. It is told from the perspective of Evan, a working class participant in the riots in which the people protested against the imposition of toll bridges; it was a protest against wider social inequalities and the poor treatment of the working people. The outcome of the riots has a profound effect on Evan and the woman he admires.
As usual, in the podcast, we do discuss the plot as a whole and so there are ‘spoilers’ about the Rebecca Rioter. There are no ‘spoilers’ regarding Katie’s books.
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Amy Lowell 1874 - 1925 was an American poet, writer, editor, speaker, activist and campaigner. She wrote in excess of 650 poems many of which would be classified as Imagist poems. In this episode of She Wrote Too, we consider a little about her life, the Imagist movement and explore four of Lowell’s poems.
Amy Lowell among her Contemporaries by Carl Rollyson is an insightful read for anyone with an interest in Lowell’s life as she suffered from some hostile accounts from some of her contemporaries which for some time diminished her reputation. We discuss some of the points raised by Rollyson about some of the reasons why this best-selling and prolific writer was treated with ill-will by her peers. Although, in our podcast, we chose to focus on her life and achievements and not the attempts to side-line her.
More biographical information can be found from the Poetry Foundation as can a selection of her poetry.
Links to the poems we discuss in this episode:
In a Garden
The Emperor’s Garden
The Artist
September 1918
You can find out more about how Amy Lowell considered that poetry is a craft that can be learned here.
You can listen to a further discussion on Amy Lowell and her place in the imagist movement on Imagiste on BBC Sounds which considers how Lowell and H.D. changed the direction of poetry with the ‘subversive beauty’ of their writing.
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Welcome to the second of our podcasts in 2024, as we are now riding the fourth wave of feminism, we look back at the literature of the early days of the movement when women were writing - and writing very well in Victorian times and at the outset of the 20th Century - but were neglected by the canon as time went on. In this new series, we will be considering some of the reasons behind that - including deliberate sabotage campaigns.
In this episode, we are looking at the utopian novel by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Herland (1915). This novel concerns the story of a feminist utopia and three men who embark on an expedition to discover this mysterious land populated entirely by women. The three men, Terry, Van and Jeff fly to explore this unique country in Terry’s plane. Terry is a wealthy, macho explorer who would describe himself as an alpha male. The different characters of the men are explored whilst they make discoveries about this island that is both populated and ruled entirely by women.
Unusually, the plot is not necessarily the most important aspect of this writing as it is an exploration of a wide range of ideas; patriarchy, feminism, power, environment, politics and many other sociological issues.
As a utopia, it invites comparison with our earlier episode of She Wrote Too in Sultana’s Dream by Rokeya Sahkawat Hossain - a novel which does not develop any men as characters.
About the auth
Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860-1935) is probably best known for her short story The Yellow Wallpaper which tells the semi-autobiographical story of a woman suffering from severe post-natal depression, touching on psychosis. She is not a forgotten writer, but this particular novel rather lives in the shadow of The Yellow Wallpaper and we considered it was time that it was brought into the light.
Gilman had a turbulent early life with the departure of her father from the family, relative poverty and attendance at many different schools followed by a very mixed career which had, as its primary purpose, ways to bring in income - from soap-selling to illustration. She was a pragmatic, hard-working woman. Her talent and intelligence together with a little more of her family life and career are discussed in the podcast.
Book Club
This is the first in our SWT Book Club and we warmly invite you to get involved! You can join as club of one, you could start a new club (see our downloadable Hints sheet on tips for starting a book club) or you could let your existing book club in on this.
A complete list of this year’s books is available to download on the Book Club page so that you can pick and choose what you would like to be involved with. All of our podcasts from 2023 are still available to use and explore - so please help yourself!
Membership of the book club provides access to suggested topics of discussion, further articles and special features together with a discussion forum to share your thoughts. The membership level is just £5 a month - less than a coffee and brownie. Joining is so appreciated as it will assist us in being able to devote the time we need to develop this into a great resource that can be widely enjoyed.
Please do let us have your comments and suggestions or any questions that you may have about She Wrote Too.
If demand is there, we can run live book group meet-ups online for Book Club members, so let us know if you would like to take part in that.
We hope you enjoy this episode. Happy reading and listening!
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This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shewrotetoo.substack.com -
Gertrude Jennings (1877–1958) was a prolific playwright throughout her long life. She mainly wrote comedies which, whilst being entertaining and funny, often dealt with weighty issues such as class, suffrage and political matters - with a light touch and veneer of frivolity.
This play, as with many of her others, is in one act and would be straightforward to stage. In this episode we consider how effectively Jennings creates interesting and engaging characters whilst dismantling anti-suffrage arguments in a gentle yet convincing and funny way.
Do visit this page again for further biographical information and further comment on some of her other works. In addition, look out for our own dramatised version of Jennings work in 2024.
We hope you enjoy this episode of She Wrote Too.
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This episode involves a look at a satirical and witty collection of poetry providing commentary on the women's suffrage movement, which was advocating for women's right to vote at the time.
We enjoyed the use of humour and irony to make a compelling argument for women's suffrage by highlighting the contradictions in how society perceives women. The title poem was a part of the broader suffrage movement in the United States, which ultimately led to the ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920, granting women the right to vote. Alice Duer Miller's work played a role in raising awareness about the suffrage cause. In fact, her hand in drafting the changes was greater than we first thought - listen to find out more.
We apologise for some problems with the sound around 20 minutes into the podcast and hope this does not hamper your enjoyment of it. We have yet to identify what gremlins were at work!
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This episode explores the novel True Love by Sarah E Farro, one of the earliest African-American novelists. Farro’s novel is set in England, a place that she had never visited - although had clearly read much about. We discuss her interesting life, our thoughts on the novel and why we think this work still needs to be celebrated.
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In this episode we consider a book first published in India in 1905 in Colonial Bengal. The story was published in Bengali newspapers and was well recognised as a witty and interesting tale of reverse purdah. As such, it is a utopian tale in which the women are in control and are in charge of all major institutions of the public sphere.
The text is available online as a free to read online version. It is a short read as you may expect from a story in a newspaper.
We refer to the book Inglorious Empire by Shashi Tharoor - what the British did to India.
We hope you enjoy the consideration of a non-capitalist, peaceful, feminist, environmentally sound society. As we discuss, one of the great values of utopian or speculative fiction is that if something can be imagined, perhaps it can be...
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In this surprisingly contemporary 19th Century novel, "The Romance of a Shop," Amy Levy vibrantly evokes a scene of late 19th-century London, where we join the story of four remarkable women who must struggle against societal expectations, realise their own ambitions and perhaps find love . Set against the backdrop of a bustling shop, this novel explores the tapestry of love, friendship, and the pursuit of a fulfilling life in a world where women are expected to be satisfied with a domestic life.
As these women challenge that status quo, at a time when the possibility for self-advancement was growing for men, the Lorimer sisters use their knowledge of art and science to improve their own lot. They mix with a wealth of interesting characters and whilst they face some opposition, they also form helpful and meaningful relationships with many others. As these women grapple with societal norms, personal dilemmas, and the boundless possibilities of love, "The Romance of a Shop" takes readers on a journey through the intricacies of human relationships, the power of choice, class and the timeless pursuit of self-discovery.
Amy Levy's vivid prose and wit give the novel an unexpectedly contemporary tone "The Romance of a Shop" is a poignant and thought-provoking tale of love and liberation in this bygone era. Daring to defy convention never gets old.
Amy Levy
Amy Levy herself was an interesting character; a highly intelligent and imaginative queer Jewish woman who was well-recognised and held in acclaim for her poetry, essays and story writing during her lifetime. You can find out more about Amy Levy’s tragically short life here from the University of London. We invite you to celebrate some of her remarkable achievements and remember her for the unconventional talent that she was.
Suicide
By way of a trigger warning, the subject of suicide is discussed in the podcast.
If you or someone you know suffers from suicidal thoughts or you are affected by these issues, there is suitable help available to all including the following (these are links to the websites for further information):
The Samaritans - for anyone, anytime
Papyrus - prevention of young suicide (under 35)
Mind - for information and support on mental health issues
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This first episode explores a 1920s tale of wit, woodlands and witchcraft.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shewrotetoo.substack.com
