Research Catalog

Women, welfare and local politics, 1880-1920 : 'we might be trusted'

Title: Women, welfare and local politics, 1880-1920 : 'we might be trusted' / Steven King.
Author: King, Steven, 1966-
Publication: Brighton [England] ; Portland, Or. : Sussex Academic Press, 2006.

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Status	Format	Access	Call Number	Item Location
Request for On-site Use Request Scan How do I pick up this item and when will it be ready?	Text	Use in library	HQ1236.5.G7 K56 2006	Off-site

Details

Description

ix, 364 pages : illustrations, maps; 24 cm

Summary

"This book offers a reappraisal of the role of women in the politics and practice of welfare in late Victorian and early Edwardian England. Focusing on the Lancashire mill town of Bolton, it traces the emergence of a core of female social and political activists from the 1860s and analyses their achievements as they rose from the humble origins of a workhouse visiting committee to become pivotal players in the formulation and implementation of local welfare policy after 1894. Using a unique working diary written by the activist and female poor law Guardian Mary Haslam, the book portrays these Bolton women as sophisticated political operators." "The author challenges established notions that women involved in local welfare administration were resented and achieved little, showing the importance in the process by which Bolton Poor Law Union moved from being one of the most backward and obstructive to one of the most progressive and dynamic in the country, adopting best practice from Britain and overseas and revolutionising the material and psychological fabric of the poor law."--Jacket.

Subject

Genre/Form

History.

Bibliography (note)

Includes bibliographical references (p. 324-342) and index.

Contents

Rethinking women, welfare and local politics -- The new poor law, female agency and feminism -- Poverty and poor relief in Lancashire and Bolton -- Preparing the ground? : philanthropy, public service and activism -- Fighting an election -- Negotiating power -- Making a difference -- Feminism, the politics of local government and suffrage -- Born to intellectual freedom? : the records of Mary Haslam, Bolton Activist -- Brief autobiographical notes written by Mary Haslam -- Diary kept by Mary Haslam of her work as a poor law guardian -- The travel diaries of Mary Haslam -- Women's suffrage in Bolton.

ISBN

1845190874
9781845190873

LCCN

2005024380

OCLC

ocm61448092
61448092
SCSB-1389056

Owning Institutions

Princeton University Library