Radical Reformers and Respectable Rebels : How the Two Lives of Grace Oakeshott Defined an Era

In 1907, Grace Oakeshott faked her own death by drowning. Aged 35, she left a marriage and a successful professional life in England and fled with her lover, Walter Reeve, to New Zealand. What prompted her to do so? Jocelyn Robson traces her life story through social, political and religious reform movements of the fin de siècle period. Annotation The fin de siecle was a time of social and cultural upheaval, with many women living more adventurous and defiant lives than their mothers would ever have dreamed possible. This is the true story of an Englishwoman who staged her own death and re-invented herself in the far colony of New Zealand, in the early 1900s. Grace Oakeshott's life is revealed through the reform movements of the period, including education for girls, ethical socialism, Victorian evangelicalism, and the changing nature of marriage. As a social activist, Grace rubbed shoulders with many notable figures, including William Morris, H.G. Wells, and Sydney and Beatrice Webb. Jocelyn Robson uses a rich collection of historical sources, including contemporary fiction and social commentary, archive documents and interviews with surviving family members. Through the lives of Grace and those close to her we discover what drove people to act in extraordinary (as well as ordinary) ways The fin de siècle was a time of social and cultural upheaval, with many women living more adventurous and defiant lives than their mothers would ever have dreamed possible. This is the true story of an Englishwoman who staged her own death and re-invented herself in the far colony of New Zealand, in the early 1900s. Grace Oakeshott's life is revealed through the reform movements of the period, including education for girls, ethical socialism, Victorian evangelicalism, and the changing nature of marriage. As a social activist, Grace rubbed shoulders with many notable figures, including William Morris, H. G. Wells, and Sydney and Beatrice Webb. Jocelyn Robson uses a rich collection of historical sources, including contemporary fiction and social commentary, archive documents and interviews with surviving family members. Through the lives of Grace and those close to her we discover what drove people to act in extraordinary (as well as ordinary) ways Front Matter....Pages i-xx Introduction....Pages 1-3 Prologue....Pages 4-6 Front Matter....Pages 7-8 Radicals in Suburbia....Pages 9-18 Learning Curves....Pages 19-30 Finding Their Own Way....Pages 31-42 ‘Another Word for Suicide’....Pages 43-52 ‘Fellowship is Heaven’....Pages 53-65 Front Matter....Pages 67-68 Answering the Call....Pages 69-84 Not Much ‘Home’ About It....Pages 85-96 Behind Closed Doors....Pages 97-109 Girls in Trades....Pages 110-121 Medical Men....Pages 122-133 Front Matter....Pages 135-136 A Place to Begin Again....Pages 137-145 ‘Ignoble Motives’....Pages 146-161 The Politics of Knitting....Pages 162-175 Landfall....Pages 176-185 After Lives....Pages 186-198 Back Matter....Pages 199-233 In 1907, Grace Oakeshott faked her own death by drowning. Aged 35, she left a marriage and a successful professional life in England and fled with her lover, Walter Reeve, to New Zealand. What prompted her to do so? Jocelyn Robson traces her life story through social, political and religious reform movements of the fin de siecle period.