Women’s Writing in the British Isles from the Beginnings to the Present
Helen Blackburn
-
Standard Name: Blackburn, Helen
Birth Name: Helen Blackburn
Pseudonym: H. B.
HB
wrote during the second half of the nineteenth century. She is seen today as a significant figure in the fight for women's suffrage, although during her own lifetime she was sometimes criticized as too moderate. Her writings include articles in periodicals, political pamphlets, and essays. Her scholarly history of the suffrage movement is still recognized by scholars today as a reliable and useful historical resource.
Presumably white, JB
was born into a propertied Protestant family. The family estate at Willingham, Lincolnshire, had been passed down from Mathew Boucherett
, a Frenchman who emigrated to England in 1644. Helen Blackburn
Friends, Associates
Jessie Boucherett
Helen Blackburn
recounts that JB
met Barbara Leigh Smith Bodichon
and Adelaide Procter
after casually picking up a copy of the English Woman's Journal at a railway station. She was so impressed with the contents...
Intertextuality and Influence
Marion Reid
MR
is thought to have influenced both Helen Blackburn
and Caroline Dall
, though it is significant that Blackburn omitted Reid's work from her history of the women's suffrage movement.
Helsinger, Elizabeth K. et al. The Woman Question. Garland.
1: 128n17
Ferguson, Susanne, and Marion Reid. “Foreword”. A Plea for Woman, Polygon, p. v - viii.
v
Intertextuality and Influence
Charlotte Stopes
Helen Blackburn
in her 1902 history of the women's suffrage movement to date, declined to go over the territory covered in CS
's book, commenting that the story of the Long Ebb
Stopes, Charlotte. British Freewomen: Their Historical Privilege. Swan Sonnenchein.
In 1891 JB
acted with Helen Blackburn
and Ada Heather-Biggs
to found the Women's Employment Defence League
, which opposed protective legislation for women workers; JB
's participation has been interpreted as indicating political conservatism...
Stone, James S. Emily Faithfull: Victorian Champion of Women’s Rights. P. D. Meany.
232n1
Stephen, Sir Leslie, and Sidney Lee, editors. The Dictionary of National Biography. Smith, Elder.
“Obituary: Miss Emilia Jessie Boucherett”. Times, p. 8.
Though all...
Textual Production
Jessie Boucherett
In 1896 JB
, Helen Blackburn
, and others published a joint work entitled The Condition of Working Women and the Factory Acts.
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.
Textual Production
Charlotte Stopes
CS
dated her preface to her treatise on female suffrage, British Freewomen: Their Historical Privilege (which draws on material gathered by Helen Blackburn
).
Stopes, Charlotte. British Freewomen: Their Historical Privilege. Swan Sonnenchein.
viii
Crawford, Elizabeth. “Books and Ephemera For Sale: Catalogue 182”. Woman and Her Sphere.
Textual Production
Lydia Becker
The Journal produced a memorial issue this month, which was its last. In 1897 Helen Blackburn
published extracts from LB
's writings for the journal under the title Words of a Leader.
Doughan, David, and Denise Sanchez. Feminist Periodicals, 1855-1984. Harvester Press.
5
Mitchell, Sally, editor. Victorian Britain: An Encyclopedia. Garland Press.
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.
Timeline
January 1866: The Englishwoman's Review began publication...
Building item
January 1866
The Englishwoman's Review began publication in London.
