Getting women's history out of the ghetto

Our review of an important volume of essays on the impact of the Suffrage Movement on British politics after 1918 has just come out in the Institute of Historical Research's Reviews in History. One of the editors Julie Gottlieb had the opportunity to respond and we're really exciting about the opportunity to get new women's history back on the mainstream agenda in time for the 2018 centenary of the Representation of the People Act and 90 years since the universal women's franchise was granted.

Should we be returning to women's history and is there scope for getting women's history "out of the ghetto" and into the mainstream? Both reviewer and author ponder this question.

Read the review and the response.

The Aftermath of Suffrage: Women, Gender, and Politics in Britain, 1918-1945 edited by: Julie Gottlieb, Richard Toye Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 2013, ISBN: 9781137015341; 268pp.; Price: £19.99.

King Arthur's Wood available again after 109 years

The Arthurian fairy tale "King Arthur's Wood" was written and illustrated by renowned Newlyn artist Elizabeth Stanhope Forbes and published 109 years ago, in 1904. Only 350 copies of this beautiful book were ever printed. In recent decades it has been much sought-after by collectors, especially those interested in art and the Newlyn School. Today, an interactive version of the book has been created, available exclusively on the iBookstore.

The story is both gripping and charming in equal measure, a tale that we felt really deserved to be enjoyed by children and grown-ups alike once again.

When Myles found out that the woods that he could see in the distance from his new home were called "King Arthur's Wood", he simply had to explore them. Filled with curiosity he ventured through the trees and discovered a dark cave where he found a book, which he took back home. Myles is visited by the Brown Spirit of the Woodlands who had come to take the book back - it was owned by none other than Merlin himself. Myles finds himself pulled into a magical world of Arthurian mystery and adventure.

This wonderful Arthurian fairy tale has been carefully digitised, and converted into an interactive book so that children young and old may enjoy this magical story once again.

The interactive book contains scanned pages to preserve the original layout and typeface. Smaller illustrations can be tapped to view full screen, and there is an extra, interactive, gallery of illustrations at the end of the book for you to explore and enjoy.

A free sample chapter is available for download through iBooks on your device. Just open the iBooks app and search for King Arthur's Wood.

Proceeds from the sale of King Arthur’s Wood go towards supporting the work of the Hypatia Trust.

New Book Published as E-Book

Presented as our first E-book, Jane Gosney has exceeded her brief as one of the circle of Patten People, and produced a beautiful on-line display of some of her excellent photography and redolent memories of Cornwall. We are indebted to her for this pioneering and exploratory 'new light' on the arts and craft scenes of West Cornwall. This e-book is available for sale at our standard series price of £7.50 (on-line PDF) by clicking here and paying with PayPal. A .pdf copy of the book will be sent to your e-mail address on receipt of your payment.

It is also available as a reward gift for those making a donation of at least £10 to the current fundraising campaign of the Hypatia Trust for the securing of a permanent home for the Elizabeth Treffry Collection, Women in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

See www.elizabethtreffrycollection.org to donate to this worthy cause, and to ask for your free copy to be sent.

Jane writes -

I had first published photographs from my visits to Cornwall in "Reflections on Light" in 2002 (an anthology of photo essays about my work as a lighting designer and photographer which can be found in the Elizabeth Treffry Collection at the Hypatia Trust ).

My images were often used to illustrate articles I had written in the press but I had never used words to " paint a picture". The invitation from Melissa Hardie to write a five thousand word monologue as the first 21st century contributor to the Patten People series was especially welcome as my work is a balance between new technologies and art.

"New Horizons" describes my life as a designer in London, idyllic summers with my mother in St Ives and my relocation to Cornwall in 2007 where how my creative work has diversified. Shared memories of simple pleasures are recounted : sadly adjusting to a loss is also part of the story.

I would like to thank Sophie Bowness and The Hepworth Estate for permission to reproduce a photograph from The Hepworth Garden as one of the eight full colour illustrations.

'Beloved Persis' Found

Less than three months after the successful launch of her historical biography Letters to Lydia: 'beloved Persis' ,author, Barbara Eaton, was contacted by a Breage resident who knew where Lydia Grenfell's grave lay in the graveyard of St. Breaca's, the parish church at Breage where she spent her last days. Rather than being near to the east end of the church as previous research had indicated, her gravestone stands in the easternmost corner of the old graveyard, between the stones commemorating her sister Mary Willyams and Mary's baby grandson, Frederick Rogers.

The unembellished stone bears a lichen clad oval cartouche with a simple inscription:

LYDIA GRENFELL 1829

Letters to Lydia: 'beloved Persis' is available from the Hypatia Trust at £12.50. For ordering details click here.