Women in British Politics, c.1689-1979 [Paperback]

This account examines some?of the areas of women's political activity in Britain from the Glorious Revolution to the election of the first female Prime Minister in 1979. It shows how women had worked in a variety of arenas and organizations before the suffrage campaign?and explores the directions their political activity took afterwards.

Acknowledgements.- Introduction: Shaping the Narrative: Waves, Peaks and Troughs?.- PART I: FORGING A POLITICAL PRESENCE.- From Glorious Revolution to Enlightenment: Women's Political Worlds, 1689-1789.- Organized Politics before Suffrage?.- PART II: THE WOMEN'S MOVEMENT ORGANISES.- The Campaign for Women's Suffrage.- Women and the Liberal Party?.- Women and the Conservative Party?.- Women and Socialism?.- PART III: WOMEN'S POLITICS AFTER THE VOTE.- Women Members of Parliament?.- Women in Political Parties 1918-1945?.- Beyond Party Politics the Reconfiguration of Feminist Organizations 1920-1979?.- Conclusion?.- Notes.- Select Bibliography?.- Index.

KRISTA COWMAN?is Professor of History at the University of Lincoln, UK. She has published widely on the history of women's suffrage and on women in politics before the First World War. She serves on the steering committee of the Women's History Network.Krista Cowman's highly approachable survey examines some of the areas of women's political activity in Britain from the period of the Glorious Revolution to the election of the first female Prime Minister. Cowman shows how women had worked in a variety of locations and organizations in the decades before the suffrage campaign, and that women's politics did not begin with the demand for a parliamentary vote. The volume also demonstrates how women's political activity continued after equal suffrage in 1928 in a number of directions within and beyond Parliament.

Key topics include:
- court politics in the age of Queen Mary and Queen Anne
- Victorian 'pressure group' politics
- Sufl3s