Evelyn Sharp: Rebel Woman, 1869-1955

Description

This is the first biography of a remarkable writer and incorrigible rebel. Evelyn Sharp's story encapsulates the shifts in opportunities for talented Victorian women who survived into the mid-twentieth century. She was born into a privileged family in 1869 and became a very popular writer of schoolgirl fiction. Extremely versatile, she also produced fairy tales alongside stories for the infamous 'Yellow Book'. A Manchester Guardian journalist for over four decades, Evelyn Sharp became the first regular contributor to its iconic Women's Page. Before and during the First World War she was a leading suffragette, editing the newspaper, 'Votes for Women'. This biography draws on Evelyn Sharp's publications, as well as letter and diaries vividly describing experiences such as famine relief in Soviet Russia and daily life in wartime Kensington for and elderly woman. It will be of interest to gender and social historians as well as to those interested in children's and women's literature. -- .

Angela V. John is Honorary Professor of History at Aberystwyth University -- .

This is a fascinating account of a forgotten feminist. Evelyn Sharp was an 1890s 'new woman' who became a militant suffragette before 1914 and became renowned both as a journalist and children's writer. Angela V. John's lucid and scholarly biography brings her back into view, illuminating the social and political history of her era while skilfully weaving into the story Sharp's long, secret love affair with the Guardian journalist she eventually married - Henry Nevinson. Professor Shelia Rowbotham