Women’s Activism in Twentieth-Century Britain

Paula Bartley is a feminist historian who has written widely on, and promoted, women’s history. Her books include Ellen Wilkinson (2014), Queen Victoria (2016) and Labour Women in Power: Cabinet Ministers in the Twentieth Century (Palgrave, 2019). She is a former judge and Chair of the Women’s History Network book prize.

“The book offers considerable geographical diversity with Bartley assessing the presence and impact of women’s activism within the home nations, as well as highlighting the different economic contexts across England. … Women’s Activism in Twentieth-Century Britain is a valuable work in its surveying of the century from the perspective of not only those women who were nationally significant to political developments, but also the organisations that worked at grassroots, local levels to change the position of women in society.” (Amy Longmuir, Women's History Review, July 27, 2023)“Women's Activism is an accessible and engaging read and makes an important contribution to the historiography. It is essential reading for students, academics and general readers interested in modern British women's history.” (Lisa Berry-Waite, Gender & History, June 20, 2023)“This book will, I am sure, become a core textbook for students, researchers, teachers, and general readers interested in twentieth-century British Women’s History and Politics. This will be facilitated by Women’s Activism in the Twentieth Century having been produced in both paperback and electronic form at a price which is accessible.” (Maggie Andrews, 20th Century British History, February 7, 2023)“I read Women’s Activism in Twentieth Century Britain as an activist who believes strongly in telling my history – and that of my community – and as a socialist, feminist and trade unionist. It is an ambitious book which sometimes made me feel overwhelmed with the inclusion of so much history. … This is so important-as is this book-as Paula concludes ‘Without new research and these fresh interpretations, there is a real danger that history itself-not just the people in the past-will perish.’” (lipsticksocialist.wordpress.com, May 9, 2022)

• 1. Introduction: Themes and Debates.- 2. A New Age: 1900–1914.- 3. The Home Front: 1914–1918.- 4. The Not-So-Roaring Twenties: 1918–1929.- 5. The Hungry Thirties: 1930–1939.- 6. The Second World War: 1939–1945.- 7. The Post-War World: 1945–1960.- 8. The Less-Than-Swinging Sixties: 1960–1970.- 9. The Selfish Seventies?: 1970–1979.- 10. Margaret Thatcher’s Age and After: 1979–2000.- 11. Conclusion: Change and Continuities.