Cicely Hamilton

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CH 's early twentieth-century plays, novels, feminist prose, and travel writing are firmly rooted in her politics, and demonstrate her skill as political satirist. As a propagandist her method is often to take the views of the other side and render them ridiculous. Her earlier writings reflect her commitment to women's suffrage and economic independence, while her later work focuses primarily on war.
  • BirthName: Cicely Mary Hammill
  • Pseudonyms: Cicely Hamilton
    She began using the name Hamilton when she went on stage.
    Shattock, Joanne. The Oxford Guide to British Women Writers. Oxford University Press, 1993.
    202
    ; C. Hamilton
    She gave her name thus on the programme of The Sixth Commandment, 1906, to conceal her sex.
    Fehlbaum, Valerie. Ella Hepworth Dixon: the Story of a Modern Woman. Ashgate, 2005.
    153

  • Indexed: Cicely Mary Hamilton
Black and white photograph of Cicely Hamilton, shown from the shoulders up. She is wearing a shimmery beaded jacket, and her hair is jaw-length and wavy.

Milestones

15 June 1872

Cicely Hammill (who later called herself CH ) was born at home in Paddington, London.
Whitelaw, Lis. The Life and Rebellious Times of Cicely Hamilton. Women’s Press, 1990.
7

12 February 1908

CH 's first full-length play, Diana of Dobson's, opened at the Kingsway Theatre in London.
Demastes, William W., and Katherine E. Kelly, editors. British Playwrights, 1880-1956. Greenwood Press, 1996.
190

13 April 1909

CH 's one-act suffrage play, How the Vote Was Won, co-written with Christopher St John , opened at the Royalty Theatre .
Demastes, William W., and Katherine E. Kelly, editors. British Playwrights, 1880-1956. Greenwood Press, 1996.
191

1940

CH returned to her favourite subjects in her last two works: Lament for Democracy (an anti-Fascist political treatise) and The Englishwoman.
Whitelaw, Lis. The Life and Rebellious Times of Cicely Hamilton. Women’s Press, 1990.
229-30
British Library Catalogue. http://explore.bl.uk/primo_library/libweb/action/search.do?dscnt=0&tab=local_tab&dstmp=1489778087340&vid=BLVU1&mode=Basic&fromLo.

5 December 1952

CH died in London of heart failure, at the age of eighty.
Although her Times obituary (8 December) and her biographer.Lis Whitelaw give 6 December as the date of death, the Dictionary of British Women Writers and the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography say 5 December.
Whitelaw, Lis. The Life and Rebellious Times of Cicely Hamilton. Women’s Press, 1990.
234
Shattock, Joanne. The Oxford Guide to British Women Writers. Oxford University Press, 1993.
202
Matthew, Henry Colin Gray et al., editors. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. http://www.oxforddnb.com/.

Biography

Birth

15 June 1872

Cicely Hammill (who later called herself CH ) was born at home in Paddington, London.
Whitelaw, Lis. The Life and Rebellious Times of Cicely Hamilton. Women’s Press, 1990.
7

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