Pioneering Women Archivists in Early 20th Century England by Elizabeth Shepherd

Pioneering Women Archivists in Early 20th Century England by Elizabeth Shepherd has just been published. This book tells the story of four remarkable women who laid the foundations of English local archives in the early 20th century: Ethel Stokes, Lilian Redstone, Catherine Jamison and Joan Wake. The book analyses their professional historical work, alongside their educational, social and family contexts, to reveal their place in the history of the archival profession. One reviewer wrote, ‘A ground-breaking study of how women shaped the English archival profession and played formative roles in establishing key institutions despite their exclusion from permanent employment and advancement… a study of individual women and a compelling analysis of gender and work’.

The book makes a new contribution to the growing literature about the role of women in the development of modern professions. It tells the story of women’s struggle for independence and education, of the ways in which women established independent cultural, social and family networks and shows how these women used their scholarly skills to earn a living.

Pioneering Women Archivists in Early 20th Century England – 1st Edition