Emilia Frances Dilke
Encyclopedia
Emilia, Lady Dilke born Emily Francis Strong, was an English
author, art historian, feminist and trade unionist.
, near Oxford
, and attended the South Kensington Art School in London in her late teens. She married Mark Pattison
, Rector of Lincoln College, Oxford
, in 1861; she was then known as Francis Pattison, Mrs. Mark Pattison, or, in some of her publications, as E. F. S. Pattison. After Mark Pattison's death in 1884, she married Sir Charles Dilke
, and was subsequently known as Lady Dilke or Emilia Dilke. Both of her marriages were topics of some public discussion.
She became a contributor to the Saturday Review
in 1864 and subsequently was for many years fine-art critic of the Academy
and from 1873 its art editor, and she published in numerous other journals in Britain and France. In addition to numerous signed and unsigned essays, and her major works of art history, she wrote essays on French politics and on women's trade unionism and women's work. She also published two volumes of short stories (a third part-volume appeared posthumously). She was involved with the Women's Protective and Provident League, later the Women's Trade Union League
(WTUL), from near its inception in 1874 and she served as President of the WTUL for many years until her death. Her niece, Gertrude Tuckwell
(daughter of her sister Rosa and brother-in-law the Reverend William Tuckwell) worked with her closely in her feminist and trade unionist activities.
Under the surname Dilke, she published the following books:
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
author, art historian, feminist and trade unionist.
Biography
Emilia Francis Strong, the daughter of Henry and Emily Weedon Strong, was called by her middle name, with its masculine spelling, during her childhood and youth. She was raised in IffleyIffley
Iffley is a village in Oxfordshire, England, within the boundaries of the city of Oxford, between Cowley and the estates of Rose Hill and Donnington, and in proximity to the River Thames . Its most notable feature is its original and largely unchanged Norman church, St Mary the Virgin, which has a...
, near Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
, and attended the South Kensington Art School in London in her late teens. She married Mark Pattison
Mark Pattison
Mark Pattison was an English author and a Church of England priest. He served as Rector of Lincoln College, Oxford.-Life:...
, Rector of Lincoln College, Oxford
Lincoln College, Oxford
Lincoln College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is situated on Turl Street in central Oxford, backing onto Brasenose College and adjacent to Exeter College...
, in 1861; she was then known as Francis Pattison, Mrs. Mark Pattison, or, in some of her publications, as E. F. S. Pattison. After Mark Pattison's death in 1884, she married Sir Charles Dilke
Sir Charles Dilke, 2nd Baronet
Sir Charles Wentworth Dilke, 2nd Baronet PC was an English Liberal and reformist politician. Touted as a future prime minister, his aspirations to higher political office were effectively terminated in 1885, after a notorious and well-publicised divorce case.-Background and education:Dilke was the...
, and was subsequently known as Lady Dilke or Emilia Dilke. Both of her marriages were topics of some public discussion.
She became a contributor to the Saturday Review
Saturday Review (London)
The Saturday Review of politics, literature, science, and art was a London weekly newspaper established by A. J. B. Beresford Hope in 1855....
in 1864 and subsequently was for many years fine-art critic of the Academy
The Academy (periodical)
The Academy was a review of literature and general topics published in London from 1869 to 1902, founded by Charles Appleton.The first issue was published on 9 October 1869 under the title The Academy: A Monthly Record of Literature, Learning, Science, and Art. It was published monthly from Oct....
and from 1873 its art editor, and she published in numerous other journals in Britain and France. In addition to numerous signed and unsigned essays, and her major works of art history, she wrote essays on French politics and on women's trade unionism and women's work. She also published two volumes of short stories (a third part-volume appeared posthumously). She was involved with the Women's Protective and Provident League, later the Women's Trade Union League
Women's Trade Union League
The Women's Trade Union League was a U.S. organization of both working class and more well-off women formed in 1903 to support the efforts of women to organize labor unions and to eliminate sweatshop conditions...
(WTUL), from near its inception in 1874 and she served as President of the WTUL for many years until her death. Her niece, Gertrude Tuckwell
Gertrude Tuckwell
Gertrude M. Tuckwell was a British trade unionist, social worker and author.Born in Oxford in 1861, and daughter of the self-proclaimed "radical parson" William Tuckwell, she was home-schooled in her family's Christian Socialist tradition and trained to be a teacher...
(daughter of her sister Rosa and brother-in-law the Reverend William Tuckwell) worked with her closely in her feminist and trade unionist activities.
Works
In addition to numerous articles in periodicals, she published, under the surname Pattison:- The Renaissance of Art in France (London, 1879), 2 vols.
- "Sir Frederic Leighton, P.R.A.". In Illustrated Biographies of Modern Artists, e.d. Francois G. Dumas (Paris, 1882).
- Claude Lorrain, sa vie and ses oeuvres (Paris, 1884)
Under the surname Dilke, she published the following books:
- Art in the Modern State (London, 1888)
- French Painters of the Eighteenth Century (London, 1899)
- French Architects and Sculptors of the Eighteenth Century (London, 1900)
- French Engravers and Draftsmen of the XVIIIth Century (London, 1902)
- French Furniture and Decoration in the Eighteenth Century (1901)
- The Shrine of Death and Other Stories (London,1886)
- The Shrine of Love and Other Stories (London, 1891)
- The Book of the Spiritual Life, with a memoir of the author (1905) Stories and essays; memoir by Charles Dilke.
Further reading
- Betty Askwith, Lady Dilke: A Biography (London: Chatto and Windus, 1968)
- Charles Dilke, "Memoir" of the author in Emilia Dilke, The Book of the Spiritual Life (1905)
- Kali Israel, Names and Stories: Emilia Dilke and Victorian Culture (New York: OUP, 1999)
- Hilary Fraser, "Emilia Dilke," in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, ed. H. C. G. Matthew and Brian Harrison (Oxford: OUP, 2004)
- Elizabeth Mansfield, “Articulating Authority: Emilia Dilke’s Early Essays and Reviews," Victorian Periodicals Review 31: 1 (Spring 1998): 76-86