"Women who dared to ask for a vote": The missing memoirs of the Scottish suffragettes

Elliott, G. (2018) "Women who dared to ask for a vote": The missing memoirs of the Scottish suffragettes. Women's Writing, 25(3), pp. 314-328. (doi: 10.1080/09699082.2018.1473016)

Abstract

In an area of political history as under-represented as women's fight for their right to vote, the involvement of Scotland's suffrage campaigners is even less known, researched and discussed. These women contributed greatly to the cause, taking part in just as much militant activism as their London-based peers, but their stories have not received recognition in the same way. Some Scottish suffrage campaigners did seek to have their voices heard by writing first-person memoirs on their struggles, but these have largely gone unpublished and unnoticed. This article discusses the fascinating lives and autobiographies of two Scottish Women's Social and Political Union members, Elizabeth Thomson and Jessie Stephen, and questions why their fascinating stories have remained hidden away in inaccessible archives for so long.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: ELLIOTT, GEMMA
• Authors: Elliott, G.
• College/School: College of Arts & Humanities > School of Critical Studies
• Journal Name: Women's Writing
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis
• ISSN: 0969-9082
• ISSN (Online): 1747-5848
• Published Online: 04 June 2018
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2018 Informa UK Limited
• First Published: First published in Women's Writing 25(3):314-328
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher