Mary Neal and the suffragettes who saved Morris dancing
Mary Neal and the suffragettes who saved Morris dancing tells the story of the Morris dance revival England, led by the indomitable Mary Neal, the slum girls of the Esperance Girls’ Club and a band of militant suffragettes. Mary was a life-long radical campaigner for women’s rights and the impetus for their promotion of the dance came from her aspiration to change society for the better, the same aspiration that drove her collaborators to militant action and to prison. The Morris revival and the militant suffrage movement were inextricably linked and Mary’s associates in the dance revival ranged from young girls who worked in the militant campaign’s offices to the hunger-striking daughters of the aristocracy.
Mary Neal and Emmeline Pethick Lawrence provided the leadership and commitment that enabled two radical movements to flourish in the early years of the 20th century, but both found themselves marginalised after policy disagreements led to devastating splits in their respective organisations, and written out of the histories of the movements which might never have got off the ground without them. Only in recent years have women begun to reclaim their place in the Morris dance movement, the very existence of which is a legacy of the militant campaign for the vote.
by Kathryn Atherton
220pp with 34 b/w plates
Mary Neal and the suffragettes who saved Morris dancing tells the story of the Morris dance revival England, led by the indomitable Mary Neal, the slum girls of the Esperance Girls’ Club and a band of militant suffragettes. Mary was a life-long radical campaigner for women’s rights and the impetus for their promotion of the dance came from her aspiration to change society for the better, the same aspiration that drove her collaborators to militant action and to prison. The Morris revival and the militant suffrage movement were inextricably linked and Mary’s associates in the dance revival ranged from young girls who worked in the militant campaign’s offices to the hunger-striking daughters of the aristocracy.
Mary Neal and Emmeline Pethick Lawrence provided the leadership and commitment that enabled two radical movements to flourish in the early years of the 20th century, but both found themselves marginalised after policy disagreements led to devastating splits in their respective organisations, and written out of the histories of the movements which might never have got off the ground without them. Only in recent years have women begun to reclaim their place in the Morris dance movement, the very existence of which is a legacy of the militant campaign for the vote.
by Kathryn Atherton
220pp with 34 b/w plates
Mary Neal and the suffragettes who saved Morris dancing tells the story of the Morris dance revival England, led by the indomitable Mary Neal, the slum girls of the Esperance Girls’ Club and a band of militant suffragettes. Mary was a life-long radical campaigner for women’s rights and the impetus for their promotion of the dance came from her aspiration to change society for the better, the same aspiration that drove her collaborators to militant action and to prison. The Morris revival and the militant suffrage movement were inextricably linked and Mary’s associates in the dance revival ranged from young girls who worked in the militant campaign’s offices to the hunger-striking daughters of the aristocracy.
Mary Neal and Emmeline Pethick Lawrence provided the leadership and commitment that enabled two radical movements to flourish in the early years of the 20th century, but both found themselves marginalised after policy disagreements led to devastating splits in their respective organisations, and written out of the histories of the movements which might never have got off the ground without them. Only in recent years have women begun to reclaim their place in the Morris dance movement, the very existence of which is a legacy of the militant campaign for the vote.
by Kathryn Atherton
220pp with 34 b/w plates