Arnold Rowntree

Arnold Stephenson Rowntree was a York businessman and Quaker. The book of letters (see below) cover the period 1910-1918, during which he was Liberal MP for York, and provides a window into the under-explored world of backbench Liberal MPs, especially those committed to the New Liberalism. It shows that the activities and opinions of MPs in this period cannot be understood without reference to the wider context of their lives, especially their religion, business interests and charitable work. The letters also provide significant new information on developments in Quaker thinking on social and political issues, the problems faced by pacifist MPs in World War One and how gender identities were constructed within political marriages in Edwardian Britain.

References

The letters of Arnold Stephenson Rowntree to Mary Katherine Rowntree, 1910-1918, by Arnold Stephenson Rowntree, Mary Katherine Rowntree, Ian Packer