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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.
List of contents
Cover Title Copyright Dedication Contents Introduction Chapter 1. The Only Girl Who Talks in School Debates Chapter 2. Ellen's Great War Chapter 3. On the Road to Radicalization Chapter 4. From Ireland to Russia Chapter 5. A Woman Candidate with Communistic Views Chapter 6. The Mighty Atom Bursts into Parliament Chapter 7. Nine Days That (Almost) Shook the World Chapter 8. No Longer Upsetting the Apple Cart Chapter 9. Out of Parliament Chapter 10. On the International Stage Chapter 11. A Fight for Humanity Itself Chapter 12. Pursuing Social Justice in Britain and Beyond Chapter 13. The Anti-Fascist Tribune Chapter 14. Ellen Is Now a Minister Chapter 15. Reforming Education Chapter 16. Death of a Good Comrade Notes Acknowledgements Index
About the author
Laura Beers is Associate Professor of History at American University and a Birmingham Fellow at the University of Birmingham.
Summary
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.
Report
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
