Bessie Rayner Parkes

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Standard Name: Parkes, Bessie Rayner
Birth Name: Elizabeth Rayner Parkes
Nickname: Bessie
Married Name: Elizabeth Rayner Belloc
Bessie Rayner Parkes (later Belloc) , a late nineteenth-century feminist, focused her writings especially on issues relating to women's work. During her life she published a collection of miscellaneous essays, a collection of vignettes, numerous articles in periodicals, a travel book, and political treatises. Though her feminist writings have been better recognized, her passion was poetry. She published a lengthy philosophical poem in addition to three volumes of poems, some of which were later compiled into a collection.
Sepia toned photograph of Bessie Rayner Parkes, seated on an upholstered chair, with an ornate table next to her. Her hands are clasped in her lap, she is wearing a dark dress with a voluminous skirt and long sleeves. She has dark, wavy, shoulder-length hair.

Connections

Connections Author name Excerpt
Birth Marie Belloc Lowndes
MBL , the elder of two children, was born at 11 George Street, Marylebone, in lodgings, since her mother had returned from France for the birth but her grandmother did not want it to...
Cultural formation Barbara Leigh Smith Bodichon
Barbara Leigh Smith , Christina Rossetti , Elizabeth Siddal , Bessie Rayner Parkes , Anna Mary Howitt , and Mary Howitt conducted a series of seances at the Hermitage, the Howitt family home.
Herstein, Sheila R. A Mid-Victorian Feminist: Barbara Leigh Smith Bodichon. Yale University Press, 1985.
97
Cultural formation Barbara Leigh Smith Bodichon
By December 1860 BLSB was sufficiently interested in Roman Catholicism (to which Bessie Rayner Parkes later converted) to write about her interest to George Eliot , who responded with sympathy but a clear statement of...
Cultural formation Adelaide Procter
AP may have converted to Roman Catholicism from Anglicanism by this date; certainly she had by 1851.
Sources conflict on the date of AP 's conversion, most of them dating it in 1851. Bessie Rayner Parkes
death Adelaide Procter
Barbara Leigh Smith Bodichon wrote of her grief to Bessie Rayner Parkes : Adelaide's death is as a light gone from among us.
Hirsch, Pam. Barbara Leigh Smith Bodichon 1827-1891: Feminist, Artist and Rebel. Chatto and Windus, 1998.
210
AP was buried in the Catholic St Mary's Cemetery, Kensal Green...
Family and Intimate relationships Marie Belloc Lowndes
Her English mother, who conducted her distinguished feminist writing career as Bessie Rayner Parkes , had married at thirty-eight (after converting to Catholicism about three years earlier). She met her husband while renting a chalet...
Family and Intimate relationships Matilda Hays
Marie Belloc Lowndes , daughter of Bessie Rayner Parkes , recalled MH as a tall, handsome woman with a strongly featured face, very clever, and with a great deal of charm, particularly for other women...
Family and Intimate relationships George Eliot
Lewes was married. He and his wife had agreed as rational free-thinkers that monogamy was unnatural. He had thus tolerated her relationship with his friend Thornton Hunt , and supported her children by Hunt, who...
Family and Intimate relationships Georgiana Fullerton
Alexander Fullerton was heir to estates in Gloucestershire and Northern Ireland, including Ballintoy Castle in County Antrim. He was an officer with the Royal Horse Guards (the Blues) before his marriage. There was some...
Friends, Associates Emilie Barrington
Emilie Wilson (later EB ) and Emily Faithfull were inseparable
Westwater, Martha. The Wilson Sisters. Ohio University Press, 1984.
115
friends until they fell out just before Emilie was married. Westwater suggests that they may have been introduced by Bessie Parkes , whose father,...
Friends, Associates Mary Howitt
MH served on the reception committee for Harriet Beecher Stowe at the time of her visit to England in April 1853. She had by that time become friendly with titled people and with members of...
Friends, Associates Barbara Leigh Smith Bodichon
Bessie Rayner Parkes ' family took a sea-side house at Hastings next to Barbara Leigh Smith 's family.
Friends, Associates Elizabeth Charles
Her friendship with Arthur Stanley , Dean of Westminster Abbey, and his wife, Lady Augusta Stanley , helped her through her mourning period; they encouraged her to try new interests and hopes.
Stephen, Sir Leslie, and Sidney Lee, editors. The Dictionary of National Biography. Smith, Elder, 1908–2024, 22 vols. plus supplements.
Another dear...
Friends, Associates Elizabeth Gaskell
By 1852, EG 's strong nucleus of important female friends included Barbara Leigh Smith , Bessie Parkes , Adelaide Procter , Octavia and Miranda Hill , and Harriet Martineau .
Uglow, Jennifer S. Elizabeth Gaskell: A Habit of Stories. Faber and Faber, 1993.
311
Friends, Associates Elizabeth Charles
Combe Edge soon became a noted centre of religous, philanthropic, and social activity.
Lowndes, Marie Belloc. I, Too, Have Lived in Arcadia. Macmillan, 1941.
343
Marie Belloc Lowndes , who stayed there for many weekends as a child with her mother, Bessie Rayner Belloc (formerly Parkes)

Timeline

8 June 1847: A Factory Act, also known as The Ten Hours...

Building item

8 June 1847

A Factory Act, also known as The Ten Hours Act, restricted the length of British women's and teenagers' working day in textile factories to ten hours.
Cook, Chris, and John, 1946 - Stevenson. The Longman Handbook of Modern British History, 1714-1995. 3rd ed., Longman, 1996.
164-5
Palmer, Alan, and Veronica Palmer. The Chronology of British History. Century, 1992.
269
Schwarzkopf, Jutta. Women in the Chartist Movement. St Martin’s Press, 1991.
179
Zlotnick, Susan. Women, Writing, and the Industrial Revolution. Johns Hopkins University Press, 1998.
209-10
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.
Sweet, Matthew. Inventing the Victorians. St Martin’s Press, 2001.
3

December 1855: Barbara Leigh Smith, later Bodichon, founded...

National or international item

December 1855

Barbara Leigh Smith , later Bodichon, founded the Married Women's Property Committee (sometimes called the Women's Committee) to draw up a petition for a married women's property bill.
Herstein, Sheila R. A Mid-Victorian Feminist: Barbara Leigh Smith Bodichon. Yale University Press, 1985.
78-9
Shanley, Mary Lyndon. Feminism, Marriage, and the Law in Victorian England. Princeton University Press, 1989.
32-3
Chedzoy, Alan. A Scandalous Woman: The Story of Caroline Norton. Allison and Busby, 1995.
245-8

February 1856: The Waverley Journal: For the Cultivation...

Writing climate item

February 1856

The Waverley Journal: For the Cultivation of the Honourable, the Progressive and the Beautiful, began fortnightly publication, advertising itself as Edited and published by Ladies.
Harrison, Royden et al. The Warwick Guide to British Labour Periodicals, 1790-1970: A Check List. Harvester Press, 1977.
589
Harrison, Royden et al. The Warwick Guide to British Labour Periodicals, 1790-1970: A Check List. Harvester Press, 1977.
589
Doughan, David, and Denise Sanchez. Feminist Periodicals, 1855-1984. Harvester Press, 1987.
1
Rendall, Jane. “A Moral Engine? Feminism, Liberalism and the English Womans JournalEqual or Different: Womens Politics 1800-1914, edited by Jane Rendall, Basil Blackwell, 1987, pp. 112-38.
115-16

February 1858: Bessie Rayner Parkes described to George...

Building item

February 1858

Bessie Rayner Parkes described to George Eliot , in a letter, the limited company established by the Langham Place group to support The English Woman's Journal.
Herstein, Sheila R. A Mid-Victorian Feminist: Barbara Leigh Smith Bodichon. Yale University Press, 1985.
134
Rendall, Jane. “A Moral Engine? Feminism, Liberalism and the English Womans JournalEqual or Different: Womens Politics 1800-1914, edited by Jane Rendall, Basil Blackwell, 1987, pp. 112-38.
118-9

February 1858: Bessie Rayner Parkes described to George...

Building item

February 1858

Bessie Rayner Parkes described to George Eliot , in a letter, the limited company established by the Langham Place group to support The English Woman's Journal.
Herstein, Sheila R. A Mid-Victorian Feminist: Barbara Leigh Smith Bodichon. Yale University Press, 1985.
134
Rendall, Jane. “A Moral Engine? Feminism, Liberalism and the English Womans JournalEqual or Different: Womens Politics 1800-1914, edited by Jane Rendall, Basil Blackwell, 1987, pp. 112-38.
118-9

March 1858: The English Woman's Journal, a monthly magazine...

Women writers item

March 1858

The English Woman's Journal, a monthly magazine on the theory and practice of organised feminism, began publication in London, with financial support from Barbara Leigh Smith Bodichon and others, under the editorship of...

7 July 1859: The first meeting of the Society for Promoting...

Building item

7 July 1859

The first meeting of the Society for Promoting the Employment of Women was held in London; founding members included Anna Jameson , Emily Faithfull , Jessie Boucherett , Adelaide Procter , Bessie Rayner Parkes , Isa Craig , and Sarah Lewin .
Stone, James S. Emily Faithfull: Victorian Champion of Women’s Rights. P. D. Meany, 1994.
42

October 1859: The Society for Promoting the Employment...

National or international item

October 1859

The Society for Promoting the Employment of Women officially joined with the Social Science Association .
Herstein, Sheila R. A Mid-Victorian Feminist: Barbara Leigh Smith Bodichon. Yale University Press, 1985.
140, 142

Late 1859: The offices of The English Woman's Journal...

Women writers item

Late 1859

The offices of The English Woman's Journal moved from Cavendish Square to 19 Langham Place, where a ladies' club was also planned.
Herstein, Sheila R. A Mid-Victorian Feminist: Barbara Leigh Smith Bodichon. Yale University Press, 1985.
140
Matthew, Henry Colin Gray et al., editors. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. http://www.oxforddnb.com/.

September 1860: Emily Faithfull and Bessie Rayner Parkes...

Writing climate item

September 1860

Emily Faithfull and Bessie Rayner Parkes spoke on the employment of women in printing trades at the fourth annual conference of the National Association for the Promotion of Social Science held in Glasgow.
Reynolds, Siân. Britannica’s Typesetters: Women Compositors in Edwardian England. Edinburgh University Press, 1989.
30-1

1861: Maria Rye established the Female Middle Class...

National or international item

1861

Maria Rye established the Female Middle Class Emigration Society in response to the scarcity of jobs in England for girls and women.
Wagner, Gillian. Children of the Empire. Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1982.
40
Mitchell, Sally, editor. Victorian Britain: An Encyclopedia. Garland Press, 1988.
Parkes, Bessie Rayner. “A Review of the Last Six Years”. Barbara Leigh Smith Bodichon and the Langham Group, edited by Candida Ann Lacey, 2nd edition, Routledge, 2001, pp. 215-22.
220
Women’s Library,. “Appendix 1.4 (1FME): Female Middle Class Emigration Society (FMCES)”. The Women’s Library, 1 Mar. 2006.
1

August 1864: The English Woman's Journal, a practical...

Building item

August 1864

The English Woman's Journal, a practical and theoretical source of organized feminism from London, merged into The Alexandra Magazine and English Woman's Journal.
Blain, Virginia et al., editors. The Feminist Companion to Literature in English: Women Writers from the Middle Ages to the Present. Yale University Press; Batsford, 1990.
under Anna Brownell Jameson
Doughan, David, and Denise Sanchez. Feminist Periodicals, 1855-1984. Harvester Press, 1987.
1-2

18 August 1882: The Married Women's Property Act gave women...

National or international item

18 August 1882

The Married Women's Property Act gave women the right to all the property they earned or acquired before or during marriage.
Holcombe, Lee. Wives and Property: Reform of the Married Women’s Property Law in Nineteenth-Century England. University of Toronto Press, 1983.
256
Soldon, Norbert. Women in British Trade Unions 1874-1976. Gill and Macmillan, 1978.
7
Weeks, Jeffrey. Sex, Politics and Society: The Regulation of Sexuality since 1800. Longman, 1981.
82
Hurwitz, Edith F., and Renate Bridenthal. “The International Sisterhood”. Becoming Visible: Women in European History, edited by Claudia Koonz, Houghton Mifflin, 1977, pp. 325-4.
353
Blain, Virginia et al., editors. The Feminist Companion to Literature in English: Women Writers from the Middle Ages to the Present. Yale University Press; Batsford, 1990.
“Property Rights of Women”. What You Need to Know About Women’s History.
Blackstone, Sir William, and Edward Christian. Commentaries on the Laws of England. 15th ed., Vol.
4 vols.
, T. Cadell and W. Davies, 1809.
Roberts, Marie Mulvey, and Tamae Mizuta, editors. The Wives: The Rights of Married Women. Routledge/Thoemmes Press, 1994, http://University of Waterloo - Porter.
Lacey, Candida Ann, editor. Barbara Leigh Smith Bodichon and the Langham Place Group. Routledge, 1987.

Texts

Parkes, Bessie Rayner. A Passing World. Ward and Downey, 1897.
Parkes, Bessie Rayner. “A Review of the Last Six Years”. Barbara Leigh Smith Bodichon and the Langham Place Group, edited by Candida Ann Lacey, Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1986, pp. 215-22.
Parkes, Bessie Rayner. “A Review of the Last Six Years”. Barbara Leigh Smith Bodichon and the Langham Group, edited by Candida Ann Lacey, 2nd edition, Routledge, 2001, pp. 215-22.
Parkes, Bessie Rayner. Ballads and Songs. Bell and Daldy, 1863.
Parkes, Bessie Rayner et al., editors. English Woman’s Journal. English Woman’s Journal Company.
Parkes, Bessie Rayner. Essays on Woman’s Work. Alexander Strahan, 1865.
Parkes, Bessie Rayner. Essays on Woman’s Work. Cambridge University Press, 2010, http://www.cambridge.org/series/sSeries.asp?code=CLOR.
Parkes, Bessie Rayner. Gabriel. J. Chapman, 1856.
Parkes, Bessie Rayner. Historic Nuns. Duckworth, 1898.
Parkes, Bessie Rayner. In a Walled Garden. Ward and Downey, 1895.
Parkes, Bessie Rayner. In a Walled Garden. Third, Ward and Downey, 1896.
Parkes, Bessie Rayner. “In a Walled Garden, 1895”. Indiana University: Victorian Women Writers Project.
Parkes, Bessie Rayner. In Fifty Years. Sands, 1904.
Parkes, Bessie Rayner, and Mary Merryweather. “Introduction”. Experience of Factory Life, 3rd ed., E. Faithfull, 1862.
Parkes, Bessie Rayner. “Isa Craig and the Prize Poem on Burns”. English Woman’s Journal, Vol.
2
, No. 12, pp. 417-20.
Parkes, Bessie Rayner. La belle France. Strahan, 1868.
Parkes, Bessie Rayner. Peoples of the World. Cassell, Petter and Galpin, 1870.
Parkes, Bessie Rayner. Poems. J. Chapman, 1852.
Parkes, Bessie Rayner. Remarks on the Education of Girls. J. Chapman, 1854.
Parkes, Bessie Rayner. Remarks on the Education of Girls. Cambridge University Press, 2010, http://www.cambridge.org/series/sSeries.asp?code=CLOR.
Parkes, Bessie Rayner. Summer Sketches and Other Poems. J. Chapman, 1854.
Parkes, Bessie Rayner. The Flowing Tide. Sands, 1900.
Parkes, Bessie Rayner, and Anne Leigh Smith. The History of Our Cat Aspasia. 1856.
Parkes, Bessie Rayner. “The Poems of Adelaide Anne Procter”. The Month, Vol.
4
, 1866, pp. 79-88.
Parkes, Bessie Rayner. The Problems of the Feminist Periodical: Letter to Barbara Leigh Smith Bodichon. 1859.