Clara Collett, 1860-1948: An Educated Working Woman (Woburn Education Series)

This absorbing account of the life and work of Clara Collet, a leading economist, statistician and champion of women's employment, is the first biography of this remarkable woman and reveals through Collet's diaries her fascinating personal life. An early female university graduate (1880), then teacher, she campaigned for the secondary education provision of girls at a time when it was negligible. Her other major contribution was in raising the status of working-class women, becoming a Commissioner for the Royal Commission on Labour (1892). She was close to the family of Karl Marx, particularly with Eleanor Marx, and with Beatrice Webb. Her enduring friendship with the cult Victorian author George Gissing deeply influenced his writing. Her working relationships with Charles Booth, Lloyd George, Ramsay MacDonald and Winston Churchill are also celebrated Book Cover......Page 1 Half-Title......Page 2 Title......Page 4 Copyright......Page 5 Contents......Page 6 List of Illustrations......Page 8 Foreword......Page 10 Acknowledgements......Page 12 Introduction......Page 14 Part 1 Childhood 1860–78......Page 16 1 Of Humble Origins......Page 18 2 Education and Revolution 1873–78......Page 27 3 Dogberrys and Marxs 1873–78......Page 35 Part 2 Life in Leicester 1878–85......Page 48 1 The School Mistress—A Pleasant Life......Page 50 2 Relationships, Traumas and Celebrities......Page 54 Part 3 The East End, Poverty and Investigation1885–93......Page 64 1 Poverty in the East End and the Charity Organisation Society......Page 66 2 Jack the Ripper and Charles Booth......Page 73 3 The Interim Years 1890–93......Page 83 Part 4 A New Way of Life 1893–1910......Page 102 1 The Civil Service—A Suitable Career for a Woman?......Page 104 2 George Gissing—'Born in Exile'......Page 109 3 George and Clara—An Intimate Friendship?......Page 120 4 Aftermath......Page 148 Part 5 An Educated Working Woman and Beyond 1903–48......Page 162 1 A Successful Life......Page 164 2 The Final Chapter......Page 187 Epilogue......Page 192 Appendix 1 Genealogy of the Collet Family......Page 198 Appendix 2 Chronology fo Clara's Life and Historical Events......Page 202 Select Bibliography......Page 208 Index......Page 215

A specialist in the East End of London and in the Victorian and Edwardian periods, McDonald (Manchester Metropolitan U.) reconstructs the life of Collet (1860-1948) as representative of an educated middle-class working woman, from her diary and correspondence. She explains how she worked in the Civil Service, highly influenced social and economic policy and reforms to benefit women and the poor, and advised Cabinet Members on matters concerning women's work. Her peers and modern researchers agree that her work as a social investigator is superior to that of her contemporary Beatrice Webb. Distributed in the US by Taylor & Francis. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

This absorbing account of the life and work of Clara Collet, a leading economist, statistician and champion of women's employment, is also the first biography of this remarkable woman and reveals through Collet's diaries her fascinating personal life. An early female university graduate (1880), then teacher, she campaigned for the secondary education provision of girls at a time when it was negligible. Her other major contribution was in raising the status of working-class women, becoming a Commissioner for the Royal Commission on Labour (1892). She was close to the family of Karl Marx, partic Annotation This is an absorbing account of the life and work of Clara Collet, a leading economist, statistician and champion of women's employment