Josephine Butler
By: Jane Jordan.
Publisher: John Murray
Published: 2001
Place of publication: London
Language: eng
Number of pages: 368
Subjects: Butler, Josephine Elizabeth Grey, 1828-1906.; Women social reformers -- Great Britain -- Biography.; Prostitutes -- Great Britain -- Social conditions -- 19th century.; Great Britain -- Social conditions -- 19th century.
Genres: Biography.
Description: "This remarkable account of the transformation of a genteel middle-aged woman, the wife of a distinguished schoolmaster and mother of four, into a powerful force for change is one of the great stories of the nineteenth century. Josephine Butler was no ordinary reformer - she didn't believe in punitive discipline, and the houses of rest she established for prositutes to rebuild thier lives were very different from those set up by other Victorian reformers. She approached these prositutes as friends, taking some into her home, which she did with the full support of her family. Her story is, too, the story of a remarkable marriage. Physically frail, Josephine Butler brought almost superhuman energy to her often dangerous campagining work, travelling great distances, swaying huge crowds with her speeches and writing fiery and effective polemics. She was largely responsible for the repeal of the Contagious Diseases Acts in 1886, which had subjected suspected prostitutes to painful, humiliating examinations. Her involvement in the exposure of the sale of young girls into prostitution helped to achieve the raising of the age of consent for girls from 13 to 16, and she was prominent in the campaign for equal education, which led to the establishement of university education for women. Jane Jordan's vivid biography does real justice to a fascinating and complex woman who was so much of her time, yet so modern in her attitudes." -- Book jacket.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Machine generated contents note: Illustrations; title: Acknowledgements; title: Family Trees; title: Introduction; title: * Early Life and Influences: 'A fiery hatred of all injustices'; title: * Courtship and Marriage: 'The Rose of Dilston'; title: * Oxford: 'The great wall of prejudice'; title: * Eva: The brightest of our little circle'; title: * The House of Rest: 'Some pain keener than my own'; title: * Wasted Lives: The aches and pangs of ignorance'; title: * The Contagious Diseases Acts: 'This work of darkness'; title: * The Parliamentary Struggle: 'Our cry is Repeal'; title: * Europe: 'Running one's breast upon knife points'; title: Martyrs to the Cause: 'Crying in the Wilderness'; title: The White Slave Trade: The Slaughter of the Innocents'; title: Winchester: 'A new sphere, a new stage'; title: Child Prostitution: 'O! What horrors we have seen!'; title: India: 'Slavery under the British Flag'; title: The Death of George: 'May God send us many such men'; title: Geneva and Rome: A fresh blow-up'; title: Final Years: 'I think I may have to die'; title: Notes; title: Bibliography; title: Index.