Women Writers' Suffrage League
The Women Writers' Suffrage League (WWSL) was an organization in the United Kingdom formed in 1908 by Cicely Hamilton and Bessie Hatton.[1]
The organization stated that it wanted "to obtain the Parliamentary Franchise for women on the same terms as it is, or may be, granted to men. Its methods are the methods proper to writers – the use of the pen."[2] The organization viewed itself as a writers' group rather than a literary society.[3] Membership was not based on literary merit, but instead was granted to anyone who had published a written work that had been paid for.[3] The league was inclusive and welcomed writers of all genders and political persuasions provided they were pro-suffrage.[3]
"The WWSL was formally dissolved on the 24 of January, 1919; within a year of the passing of the 1918 Representation of the People Act."[3]
Notable members
WWSL had over 100 members, including several notable female suffrage authors:[3]
- Elizabeth Robins - First President
- Marie Belloc Lowndes - Vice President
- Margaret Nevinson - Treasurer
- Cicely Hamilton
- Bessie Hatton
- Beatrice Harrden
- May Sinclair
- Alice Meynell
See also
References
- ^ Crawford, Elizabeth (2003) [First published 1999]. The Women's Suffrage Movement: A Reference Guide 1866-1928. Routledge. pp. 712–713. ISBN 9781135434021. OCLC 53836882, 475881247, 742299597.
- ^ Robins, Elizabeth (1913). Way Stations. Hodder and Stoughton. p. 106. OCLC 654476659. Retrieved 4 August 2013.
- ^ a b c d e Park, Sowon (June 1997). "The First Professional: The Women Writers' Suffrage League" (PDF). Modern Language Quarterly. 57 (2): 185–200. OCLC 91145060. Retrieved 14 February 2015.