Women's Social and Political Union

Marsden's first major collaborator was Mary Gawthorpe . The two began their friendship in about 1906 and had since frequently shared personal and professional concerns, including possible courses of action in the feminist movement.

DM officially resigned from her position as a WSPU organizer and began a comparatively independent exploration of feminist issues.

DM reserved some of her harshest and most frequent criticism for suffrage groups, particularly the WSPU . She attacked the Union from the journal's first issue forward, for what she saw as a gap its...

DM published the first of her many articles in the WSPU journal Votes for Women. In this piece she covered a Union rally attended by about 50,000 in Huddersfield.

As editor Marsden received informal letters and formal reviews that showed appreciation for the journal's attempt at provocative, comprehensive coverage of pressing socio-political issues. But The Freewoman also aroused controversy and negative response. For instance...

Mary Gawthorpe resigned her co-editorship of The Freewoman after DM published there her explicit attack on the WSPU , A Militant Psychology. Gawthorpe had disagreed with Marsden's position for some time.

Rebecca West wrote on The Freewoman in a 1926 issue of the feminist weekly Time and Tide. She disagreed with Marsden's campaign against the WSPU as well as with her later philosophical turns, while...

Though some of DM 's activities and affiliations are unclear, studying and living in Manchester was a highly formative experience for her. By then the city had established strong ties with the labour and suffrage...

As editor and then contributing editor, DM published essays through which she explored her doctrine of radical individualism.Asked about the paper's stance on women's suffrage, she replied that it was Nowhere, since...

When she returned to the north after living in Colchester, DM became more actively involved with the formal suffrage movement, particularly the WSPU . Along with Rona Robinson , she was attracted to the ideals...

After this, DM 's role within the WSPU expanded markedly. She was a frequent public speaker and temporarily took over Mary Gawthorpe 's work as a Union organizer when Mary was ill. Her work was...

This image was both exploited and subverted to varying degrees by the press, the WSPU , and Marsden herself. From this point forward, Marsden became a significant force within the Union as a paid organizer...

Charges against the women were dropped owing to pressure from the University Chancellor, the Liberal writer and statesman Lord Morley (now a Viscount), whose speech they had interrupted and who was said to be appalled...

Continuing the pattern begun several months previously, Marsden received high praise from Union leaders while she also continued to come under their scrutiny. She was criticised within the movement for her apparent lack of financial...

DM moved frequently during her time with the WSPU . Finances were limited and she was in high demand in Manchester, London, and such smaller districts as Southport and Blackburn. Between November...