Elsie brown author biography in the back
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A shady plot
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Elsie Bowerman
British lawyer and suffragette (1889–1973)
Elsie Edith Bowerman (18 December 1889 – 18 October 1973) was a British lawyer, suffragette, political activist, and RMS Titanic survivor.
Early life
[edit]Elsie Edith Bowerman was born in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, the only daughter of William Bowerman and his wife Edith Martha Barber.[1] Her father, William, was a prosperous businessman and died when Elsie was five years old. She attended Wycombe Abbey as a boarder from the age of 11 in 1901, becoming the youngest student there.[2] She later wrote the biography of Frances Dove, her headmistress during her time at Wycombe. After spending some time in Paris, Elsie continued her education at Girton College, Cambridge, where she studied for the Medieval and Modern Languages Tripos and received a class II in her final examinations in 1911.
Suffragette activism
[edit]Whilst at Girton she became a committed suffragette, taking part in informal activism such as giving out Votes for Women to others and organising suffrage events for her peers. She once had Emmeline Pankhurst stay for a night when she gave a talk in nearby Cambridge. Despite being an active member of the WSPU, there is no record of Elsie taking part in militancy at this time.
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Lighting a Lamp by Harriet Avery
This story was inspired by suffragettes like Mary and Elsie Howie, who spoiled or evaded the 1911 census in an act of protest against the disenfranchisement of women. |
The door bangs; Elsie has come back at last. And she’s not alone – she’s with the others. My heart sinks, just a little. Here they come, clattering and whispering and laughing down the hall. And upstairs the ominous creak as Mrs Malleson hears the noise at this late hour and disapproves.
I barely have time to stand up before they flood into the kitchen, setting the saucepans ringing.
“I’m just too thrilled, darling…”
“Your sister must have gone to bed, Els –”
“Ah, no, here she is! Hallo, Mary!”
“Goodness, Mary, why are you sitting here in the dark?” I hear the tone of slight peevishness in Elsie’s voice, just as it was when we were at school and I had collected chestnuts instead of bone-china buttons – “I can hardly see a thing!”
I hear my voice excusing weakly: “It’s economical…”
“Well, you might light the lamp at least – and I’ll make us some cocoa and crumpets, shall I, girls?”
“Plenty!” says Connie – I recognise her voice – “we need plenty of sustenance tonight!”
“Do light the lamp, Mary.”
Yes, I must light the lamp, and do it quickly, laughingly, so the