Thesis: some errata P-3 Paragraph 2: 'they reflect the period in which these women were growing up' p.20 Paragraph 2: 'both were crucial to the way in which all women...' p.54 Line 2: insert comma thus 'work, and can be defined...' p.135 Footnote 120: insert full stop after initials thus 'I. Goodson and S. Ball' p. 145 Footnote 1: Delete 'n' to read 'A paper on this...' p.212 Paragraph 1: Quote from Alice Foley already recorded as part of longer quote on p. 110-11. p.214 Paragraph 1: footnote Alice Foley quote re:'knocker-up' asABolton Childhood p.15. p.226 Paragraph 2: repeat of 'positions' in first two sentences, change second sentence to 'This led to belter pay and...' delete 'paid positions'. p.285 Last line: delete final 'in 1940s' p.288 Paragraph 2: lower case letter for board at end of first sentence. p.295 Paragraph 3: delete 'in' to read: 'This was illustrated as the women' p.343. Insert gap between top two titles. p.344 Insert issue number, thus 'Issue 44' Appended material: Elaine's copy only? First page of WH Magazine article missing. Abstract This thesis contributes to our understanding of women's social history, and particularly the social, personal and political achievements of women born into the working-class in late Victorian England. Preliminary research involved autobiographies from working- class women bom throughout the nineteenth century, and a change in tone and content was discovered in those written by women bom from 1870 to 1900: for the first time women of this class were beginning to write about their experiences of success. This cohort of women was bom into different strata of working-class society, in disparate areas of England, both rural and urban, with a variety of family, educational and occupational experiences. Yet despite the diversity in their texts, they reveal a commonality in their motivation and ability to express themselves in terms of the struggles they have overcome and the importance to them of achievements gained. The importance of these texts is in the wider sweep of working-class history, they reflect the period in which they were growing up and they provide a wealth of detail about the gendered and class-specific experiences of working-class women during a period of profound social and political change. The women express a sense of success that each felt about her life in the interwoven and sometimes interdependent areas of education, domesticity, economics and politics - each of which is explored as a chapter in the thesis. Undeniably, their achievements were facilitated by widening opportunities for women as a result of educational, economic, and most importantly, political reforms. With the support of parents, family members or networks of friends, colleagues or neighbours the writers describe the interconnected series of chance and planned actions by which they achieved their ambitions. They describe, variously, some upward social mobility, an improved standard of living, more personal freedom, and their formal acceptance into the public arena of both local and national politics. These autobiographies are important as the personal, and in the case of these women, often the only, view of one person and their relationship with the broadening societal reflections of gender and class imposed by the changing social landscape of the period. Thesis word count: 84338 I LHMANENT RETENTION B.S.U.C. - LIBRARY 00324045 THE NATURE OF SUCCESS IN THE PUBLISHED AUTOBIOGRAPHIES OF. WOMEN BORN INTO THE WORKING CLASS IN ENGLAND 1870-1900. CAROL ANN JENKINS A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the University of the West of England, Bristol for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Bath Spa University College School of History, Bath Spa University College July 2003 The Nature of Success in the Published Autobiographies of Women Born into the Working Class in England 1870-1900. Contents Page number Acknowledgements 2 Abstract 3 The Thesis: Introduction 5 Chapter 1: Methodology 24 Chapter 2: The Cohort, Their Lives and Their Autobiographies 56 Chapter 3: Education 91 Chapter 4: Domesticity 145 Chapter 5: Economics 198 Chapter 6: Politics 242 Conclusion 293 Appendices Appendix I: Biographies of Cohort 298 Appendix II: Bibliography of Cohort Autobiographies 299 Appendix III: Chronological Table 300 Bibliography 304 Appended Material Published in Advance of the Thesis 344 ff Acknowledgements I should like to extend my thanks to the following people and institutions for their help in various ways during the preparation of this thesis: To my Director of Studies, Elaine Chalus, whose support, advice and encouragement has been exemplary, and to my external supervisor Gaynor Kavanagh for her help and guidance. To my very good friends Barbara White and Mark Pottle who have read and commented on drafts of chapters; and to friends and family for their patience and affection despite my neglect of them. My research in various libraries and archives was facilitated by their staff and thanks are due to these, most particularly: Bath Spa University College library at Newton Park; the British Library; the Bodleian Library, Oxford; University College Library, Oxford; Ruskin College, Library Oxford; Oxford Law Library; Bath City Library; Manchester City Library Archives; Bolton City Archives; Rawtenstall Library Archives; Brunei University Local History Archives; Carlisle City Library Archives and Cambridgeshire Library, Huntingdon branch. Finally, I would like to thank Bath Spa University College for the funding I have received during my research. Dedication This thesis is dedicated to my husband, Gan, without whose forbearance, support and encouragement, it may not have been written. Also to my dear friend Myrtle Shipway, who died in February 2000, and is sadly missed. Copyright: This copy has been supplied on the understanding that it is copyright material and that no quotation from the thesis may be published without proper acknowledgement. PLEASE NOTE THAT THE APPENDED MATERIAL PUBLISHED IN ADVANCE OF THE THESIS HAS BEEN REDACTED IN THIS DIGITIZED VERSION DUE TO POTENTIAL COPYRIGHT ISSUES. Abstract This thesis contributes to our understanding of women's social history, and particularly the social, personal and political achievements of women born into the working-class in late Victorian England. Preliminary research involved autobiographies from working- class women born throughout the nineteenth century, and a change in tone and content was discovered in those written by women born from 1870 to 1900: for the first time women of this class were beginning to write about their experiences of success. This cohort of women was born into different strata of working-class society, in disparate areas of England, both rural and urban, with a variety of family, educational and occupational experiences. Yet despite the diversity in their texts, they reveal a commonality in their motivation and ability to express themselves in terms of the struggles they have overcome and the importance to them of achievements gained. The importance of these texts is in the wider sweep of working-class history, they reflect the period in V.:-n v> which they were growing up and they provide a wealth of detail about the gendered and class-specific experiences of working-class women during a period of profound social and political change. The women express a sense of success that each felt about her life in the interwoven and sometimes interdependent areas of education, domesticity, economics and politics - each of which is explored as a chapter in the thesis. Undeniably, their achievements were facilitated by widening opportunities for women as a result of educational, economic, and most importantly, political reforms. With the support of parents, family members or networks of friends, colleagues or neighbours the writers describe the interconnected series of chance and planned actions by which they achieved their ambitions. They describe, variously, some upward social mobility, an improved standard of living, more personal freedom, and their formal acceptance into the public arena of both local and national politics. These autobiographies are important as the personal, and in the case of these women, often the only, view of one person and their relationship with the broadening societal reflections of gender and class imposed by the changing social landscape of the period. Thesis word count: 84338 The Nature of Success in the Published Autobiographies of Women Born into the Working Class in England 1870-1900. Introduction Perceptions of Success The nature of success, which is central to this thesis, is open to many different interpretations. Individuals mostly have their own ideas of what success means to them, and definitions can thus be highly subjective. But while success has an abstract quality, it is also something tangible for most people: something to which they aspire and work towards, and something that they celebrate when they feel they have attained it. At the beginning of the twenty-first century the means to success and the fulfilment of personal ambition has become big business. In bookshops, much shelf space is given over to the subject; an industry has grown up around the idea that anyone, anywhere, can achieve success. Ideas on what comprises success are legion. It may mean material wealth, encompassing a good position at work and the attendant lifestyle this brings: a large well-furnished house, a fast car and other up-market life acquisitions. Success may also be more nebulous: job satisfaction, a good marriage, pride in personal achievements, a sense of happiness, inner peace, or fulfilment.Increasingly, it involves celebrity status. Success may almost be described as all things to all people. The descriptions of success that permeate modern literature support the notion of an individual 'having it all'. 1 Books offer advice on ways to achieve the material affluence and personal fulfilment to which, it is suggested, all can aspire.