Charlotte Carmichael Stopes
Encyclopedia
Charlotte Carmichael Stopes (1841–1929) was a British scholar, author, and campaigner for women's rights. She published several books relating to the life and work of William Shakespeare
. Her most successful publication was British Freewomen: Their Historical Privilege (published 1894), a book which influenced and inspired the early twentieth century British women's suffrage movement. She married Henry Stopes, a palaeontologist, brewer and engineer. They produced two daughters, the eldest of whom was Marie Stopes
, birth control advocate.
founded the Ladies' Edinburgh Debating Society, which published a regular writing journal, "The Attempt". Charlotte Carmichael had become a member by 1866 and published sundry pieces in The Attempt. In a meeting of the society in 1867 Mary Crudelius
presented her initiative of creating classes for women at a university level under the auspices of the Edinburgh Ladies' Educational Association
. Charlotte Carmichael was present at the meeting. She pledged her willingness to attend such classes and guaranteed another twelve interested persons. The first classes began in 1868, taught by Professor David Masson
, Professor of English Literature at Edinburgh University, ‘at a time when the University was not open to women and courses were given to them privately by the male Professors’. Although women were not permitted to take a degree, she achieved the highest certificate then available to a female student, in subjects as diverse as literature, philosophy and science, achieving first class honours. In fact, she "was the first woman in Scotland to gain a Certificate of Arts". She used her education for the advancement of women and pursued scholarly interests in English Renaissance, particularly Shakespearean, literary history.
In 1879 she married Henry Stopes.
was the actual author of Shakespeare's plays. This was the first of several works of scholarship concerning Shakespeare and literature of his period. Her books in the field included Shakespeare’s Family (1901), Shakespeare’s Warwickshire Contemporaries (1907), William Hunnis and the Revels (1910), Burbage and Shakespeare’s Stage (1913), The Seventeenth-Century Accounts of the Masters of the Revels (1922) and many published notes and articles. Stopes received an award from the British Academy
in 1916 for her Shakespearian research, thirteen years before her death in February 1929.
According to Boas, on the day after Stopes died, The Times
published the following comment:
. She wrote pamphlets and spoke publicly in campaigns for women’s rights.
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
. Her most successful publication was British Freewomen: Their Historical Privilege (published 1894), a book which influenced and inspired the early twentieth century British women's suffrage movement. She married Henry Stopes, a palaeontologist, brewer and engineer. They produced two daughters, the eldest of whom was Marie Stopes
Marie Stopes
Marie Carmichael Stopes was a British author, palaeobotanist, campaigner for women's rights and pioneer in the field of birth control...
, birth control advocate.
University education
In 1865 Sarah MairSarah Mair
Dame Sarah Elizabeth Siddons Mair, DBE was a Scottish campaigner for women's education and women's suffrage, active in the Edinburgh Association for the University Education of Women and the Ladies' Edinburgh Debating Society, which she founded before she was 20.-Life:Born into a well-to-do family...
founded the Ladies' Edinburgh Debating Society, which published a regular writing journal, "The Attempt". Charlotte Carmichael had become a member by 1866 and published sundry pieces in The Attempt. In a meeting of the society in 1867 Mary Crudelius
Mary Crudelius
Mary Crudelius was a British campaigner for women's education who lived in Leith, Edinburgh in the 1860s and 1870s, and was a supporter of women's suffrage....
presented her initiative of creating classes for women at a university level under the auspices of the Edinburgh Ladies' Educational Association
Edinburgh Association for the University Education of Women
The Edinburgh Association for the University Education of Women , originally known as the Edinburgh Ladies' Educational Association , campaigned for higher education for women from 1867 until 1892 when Scottish universities started to admit female students...
. Charlotte Carmichael was present at the meeting. She pledged her willingness to attend such classes and guaranteed another twelve interested persons. The first classes began in 1868, taught by Professor David Masson
David Masson
David Masson , was a Scottish writer.He was born in Aberdeen, and educated at Aberdeen Grammar School and at Marischal College, University of Aberdeen. Intending to enter the Church, he proceeded to Edinburgh University, where he studied theology under Dr Thomas Chalmers, with whom he remained...
, Professor of English Literature at Edinburgh University, ‘at a time when the University was not open to women and courses were given to them privately by the male Professors’. Although women were not permitted to take a degree, she achieved the highest certificate then available to a female student, in subjects as diverse as literature, philosophy and science, achieving first class honours. In fact, she "was the first woman in Scotland to gain a Certificate of Arts". She used her education for the advancement of women and pursued scholarly interests in English Renaissance, particularly Shakespearean, literary history.
In 1879 she married Henry Stopes.
Shakespearean scholarship
Her first book was The Bacon/Shakespeare Question, published in 1888: refuting the popular speculation that Francis BaconFrancis Bacon
Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Albans, KC was an English philosopher, statesman, scientist, lawyer, jurist, author and pioneer of the scientific method. He served both as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England...
was the actual author of Shakespeare's plays. This was the first of several works of scholarship concerning Shakespeare and literature of his period. Her books in the field included Shakespeare’s Family (1901), Shakespeare’s Warwickshire Contemporaries (1907), William Hunnis and the Revels (1910), Burbage and Shakespeare’s Stage (1913), The Seventeenth-Century Accounts of the Masters of the Revels (1922) and many published notes and articles. Stopes received an award from the British Academy
British Academy
The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national body for the humanities and the social sciences. Its purpose is to inspire, recognise and support excellence in the humanities and social sciences, throughout the UK and internationally, and to champion their role and value.It receives an annual...
in 1916 for her Shakespearian research, thirteen years before her death in February 1929.
According to Boas, on the day after Stopes died, The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
published the following comment:
- "The Royal Society of Literature has lost a distinguished veteran among its Fellows, and the study of Shakespeare a brave and devoted servant."
Feminist scholarship and activism
C.C. Stopes' study of British women’s history proved to be the most popular and influential of her numerous publications. British Freewomen: Their Historical Privilege was published by Swann Soennenshein in 1894. It ran to several editions and was a key reference point for the British female suffrage movement. As Laura E Nym Mayall observes that British Freewomen was ‘perhaps the single most influential text in casting women’s struggle for the vote within the radical narrative of loss, resistance and recovery’ since Stopes’ arguments, as outlined in successive editions of British Freewomen, were frequently cited by ‘suffragists of all stripes in making the case for women’s suffrage in print, before crowds, and in the courtroom’. Stopes was a member of the National Union of Women's Suffrage SocietiesNational Union of Women's Suffrage Societies
The National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies , also known as the Suffragists was an organisation of women's suffrage societies in the United Kingdom.-Formation and campaigning:...
. She wrote pamphlets and spoke publicly in campaigns for women’s rights.