Red Ellen: The Life of Ellen Wilkinson, Socialist, Feminist, Internationalist

Laura Beers

Published by Harvard University Press 2016

Red Ellen

The Life of Ellen Wilkinson, Socialist, Feminist, Internationalist

Laura Beers

https://doi.org/10.4159/9780674972711

Overview
Contents

About this book

Ellen Wilkinson viewed herself as part of an international radical community and became involved in socialist, feminist, and pacifist movements that spanned the globe. By focusing on the extent to which Wilkinson’s activism transcended Britain’s borders, Laura Beers adjusts our perception of the British Left in the early twentieth century.

Reviews

A thorough, readable account of a remarkable life. From working class roots in Manchester, Ellen Wilkinson went on to become a socialist, suffragist, Labour MP, journalist, novelist, internationalist, trade unionist, Jarrow Crusade leader, and the only woman in Attlee’s postwar Cabinet—a lifetime journey few women, or men, could achieve even now.
-- Pat Thane, coauthor of Sinners? Scroungers? Saints? Unmarried Motherhood in Twentieth-Century England

Extremely well researched and exceptionally well written, Red Ellen is work of the very highest caliber by an immensely talented historian of twentieth-century Britain. Beers provides a real sense of who Ellen Wilkinson was, how people reacted to her, and most importantly of all, why she mattered.
-- Andrew Thorpe, author of Parties at War: Political Organisation in Second World War Britain

A highly accessible biography of a major figure of twentieth-century British political culture. Beers presents her case for Wilkinson as a political polymath with verve and a convincing narrative style, and reveals the multifarious roles in politics—both parliamentary and extra-parliamentary—that Wilkinson played.
-- Susan Pennybacker, author of From Scottsboro to Munich: Race and Political Culture in 1930s Britain

Beers has produced a detailed account of an extraordinary life.
-- Clare Griffiths Times Higher Education

In Red Ellen, Laura Beers…draws a multifaceted portrait, capturing the woman herself as well as her remarkable political career.
-- Martin Rubin Wall Street Journal

Gives readers a vivid insight into the life of one of the most important figures in the history of the British radical left.
-- Katherine Williams LSE Review of Books

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
1. The Only Girl Who Talks in School Debates Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	7
2. Ellen’s Great War Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	37
3. On the Road to Radicalization Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	61
4. From Ireland to Russia Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	83
5. A Woman Candidate with Communistic Views Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	105
6. The Mighty Atom Bursts into Parliament Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	133
7. Nine Days That (Almost) Shook the World Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	165
8. No Longer Upsetting the Apple Cart Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	195
9. Out of Parliament Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	227
10. On the International Stage Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	247
11. A Fight for Humanity Itself Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	279
12. Pursuing Social Justice in Britain and Beyond Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	311
13. The Anti-Fascist Tribune Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	347
14. Ellen Is Now a Minister Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	383
15. Reforming Education Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	411
16. Death of a Good Comrade Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	449
Notes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	457
Acknowledgements Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	509
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	513

Language: English
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Pages
- Main content: 470
Illustrations
- Other: 30 halftones

eBook

Published: January 11, 2017
ISBN: 9780674972711