Caroline Phillips: balancing life as a journalist and a suffragette in a Scottish city.

Pedersen, Sarah

Abstract

© 2020 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. Aberdeen Art Gallery holds a unique collection in the history of the Scottish women’s suffrage movement: the correspondence of Caroline Phillips, journalist and honorary secretary of the Aberdeen branch of the WSPU, 1907-09. Through her correspondence, Phillips wrestled with the demands of London headquarters for more militant action, was tempted to join the Women’s Freedom League, and finally saw herself and her friend Helen Fraser replaced by the Pankhursts. Because of her involvement in the suffrage movement, Phillips found it difficult to gain entrance to some political events in the city, making it impossible to complete her work as a reporter, and was threatened with dismissal by her employer. She was also torn between the demands for militant action of the WSPU leadership and her own instinct for a more conciliatory approach. Her correspondence reveals the emotional and personal costs of working for ‘the cause’ in a city far away from the heart of the suffrage movement, but also the fulfilling friendships that sustained and supported her.

Citation

PEDERSEN, S. 2020. Caroline Phillips: balancing life as a journalist and a suffragette in a Scottish city. Women's history review [online], 29(6): the women's suffrage campaign in Britain and Ireland: new perspectives, pages 940-954. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1080/09612025.2020.1745401

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Mar 18, 2020
• Online Publication Date: Mar 31, 2020
• Publication Date: Sep 30, 2020
• Deposit Date: Mar 20, 2020
• Publicly Available Date: Oct 1, 2021
• Journal: Women's history review
• Print ISSN: 0961-2025
• Electronic ISSN: 1747-583X
• Publisher: Routledge
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 29
• Issue: 6
• Pages: 940-954
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09612025.2020.1745401
• Keywords: Aberdeen; Suffragette; WSPU; Pankhurst; WFL
• Public URL: https://rgu-repository.worktribe.com/output/881378