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their experience of "huge impersonal events - the War, the Boom, the Slump. News is reported daily of immense catastrophes over which they can have no control, the
Japanese and Indian earthquakes, Chinese famine, African drought ... The individual will seems unimportant, the individual personality is dwarfed, by happenings on so large a scale ... This is the slump complex - this narrowing of ambition, this closing-in alike of ideas and opportunities. Somewhere, a spring of vitality and hope has failed." Holtby perceived feminism as necessarily tied to Enlightenment rationality, progress, and
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war and depression: "Just after the war, society was infected by a rush of idealism to the head. Democracy and reason, equality and co-operation were acclaimed as uncontested virtues. In the new constitutions of Europe and
America were incorporated splendid statements about the freedom of opinion, equality of the sexes, accessibility of education. We were about to build a brave new world upon the ruins of catastrophe ... About 1926, after the
384:: "The attempt to create communities where men and women alike share the full stature of humanity is an attempt to do something which has not been done before, and which can only be achieved under certain conditions. And one of these is the acceptance of reason as a guide in human conduct. If we choose an anti-rational philosophy, in this quest, at least, we are defeated. The enemies of reason are inevitably the opponents of 'equal rights.'"
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Holtby linked the 1930s reaction against feminism to a broader "revolt against reason which has affected the intellectual life of the entire
Western World". Holtby contextualized the rise of the Nazis, and the Western turn to the political Right in general, as a reaction to the broader upheavals of
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and the delay by the Powers in making good their promises, the slump in idealism began to set in. Reason, democracy, the effort of the individual human will, liberty and equality were at a discount." Holtby noted that a former politician had explained the apathy of young women with reference to
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Personally, I am a feminist … because I dislike everything that feminism implies. … I want to be about the work in which my real interests lie … But while … injustice is done and opportunity denied to the great majority of women, I shall have to be a
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came to an end and she returned home. During this period, Holtby met Harry
Pearson, the only man who stimulated romantic feelings in her, due primarily to his tales of the suffering soldiers endured during the war.
33:
248:, Chelsea; Catlin resented the arrangement and his wife's close friendship with Holtby, who nevertheless became an adoptive aunt to Brittain's two children, John and Shirley (
273:. Winifred Holtby died on 29 September 1935, aged 37. She never married, though Harry Pearson proposed to her on her deathbed, possibly at the instigation of Vera Brittain.
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529:, which was opened in December 1940. It was named the Winifred Holtby Memorial Library. It was the first library to be built in Africa specifically for non-Europeans.
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claims that, like all Holtby's other novels, it is "staunchly feminist in its use of a strong woman as the central protagonist." In 1938, it was made into a
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As well as her journalism, Holtby wrote 14 books, including six novels; two volumes of short stories; the first critical study of
Virginia Woolf (1932) and
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460:(1940) and in 1960 published a censored edition of their correspondence. Their letters, along with many of Holtby's other papers, were donated in 1960 to
267:. Her doctor gave her only two years to live. Aware of her impending death, Holtby put all her remaining energy into what became her most important book,
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252:). Shirley describes her as being "tall – nearly 6ft – and slim, she was incandescent with the radiance of her short and concentrated life".
495:, just yards from the house in which she was born. Her epitaph is "God give me work till my life shall end and life till my work is done".
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Holtby's fame was derived mainly from her journalism: she wrote for more than 20 newspapers and magazines, including the feminist journal
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and was a staunch campaigner for the unionisation of black workers in South Africa, during which she had considerable contact with
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On her death, Holtby left a small legacy and her own collection of books to a library in the South
African township of
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All her novels, together with a collection of short stories and a collection of her journalism, were reprinted by
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Holtby was, together with
Brittain, an ardent feminist, socialist and pacifist. She lectured extensively for the
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in 2008, having been broadcast the previous year as a ten-part BBC Radio 4 dramatisation by Diana
Griffiths) and
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339:(1934), a feminist survey with opinions that are still relevant. She dedicated the latter book to composer
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113:(23 June 1898 – 29 September 1935) was an English novelist and journalist, now best known for her novel
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for the best regional novel of the year. In 2003 the award was incorporated into the
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newspaper. She also wrote a regular weekly column for the trade union magazine
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1150:"The story of the friendship between Winifred Holtby and Vera Brittain"
1124:"Episode 1, Winifred Holtby - South Riding Omnibus - BBC Radio 4 Extra"
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914:"15 Minute Drama: Winifred Holtby - The Crowded Street Episode 1 of 10"
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201:, hoping to establish themselves as writers (the blue plaque at No. 82
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449:. There have also been several radio adaptations, the most recent for
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197:. After graduating from Oxford, in 1921, Winifred and Vera moved to
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Vera
Brittain wrote about her friendship with Holtby in her book
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Holtby was born to a prosperous farming family in the village of
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in
England and its failure, after the entry of Germany into the
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An illustrated History of Johannesburg, Anna H. Smith, ed. 1956
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library in South Africa. A biography of Holtby by Marion Shaw,
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163:(WAAC) in early 1918 but soon after she arrived in France, the
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803:"Holtby, Winifred (1898–1935), novelist and feminist reformer"
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627:(1999; published posthumously), collection of short stories
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147:. Holtby was educated at home by a governess and then at
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Holtby biography in the Literary Encyclopedia website
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Central Library in Yorkshire and are now held at the
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List of Winifred Holtby Memorial Prize award winners
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400:(1938), produced by Alexander Korda and directed by
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502:in the Virago Modern Classics series in the 1980s.
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306:(also serving on the board of directors) and the
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1323:"Archival material relating to Winifred Holtby"
1089:The Feminist Companion to Literature in English
946:"Winifred Holtby: author, feminist, campaigner"
487:Holtby was buried in All Saints' churchyard in
418:The Feminist Companion to Literature in English
1061:"The James Tait Black Prizes: Fiction winners"
812:(online ed.). Oxford University Press.
736:(online ed.). Oxford University Press.
155:. Although she passed the entrance exam for
119:, which was posthumously published in 1936.
1274:The Clear Stream: a life of Winifred Holtby
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16:English novelist and journalist (1898–1935)
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415:for 1936 and has never been out of print.
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1262:, Chatto & Windus 1995; Virago, 2001.
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638:A New Voter's Guide to Party Programmes
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1016:. Crichton, Ronald. New York: Viking.
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328:(1932) and a volume of short stories,
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355:", the song composed in 1910 for the
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1225:"The Winifred Holtby Memorial Prize"
886:"The tragic story of 'South Riding'"
775:"The real story behind South Riding"
621:(1939; published posthumously), play
613:Truth is Not Sober and Other Stories
297:(1927) – met with moderate success.
1176:Wainwright, Martin (3 March 2011).
944:Rustin, Susanna (14 January 2017).
615:(1934), collection of short stories
259:, recurrent headaches and bouts of
131:Plaque at 58 Doughty Street, London
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1372:20th-century English women writers
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394:(left) and Joan Ellum in the film
357:Women's Social and Political Union
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1148:Bostridge, Mark (15 March 2012).
1047:Women and a changing civilisation
975:Women and a changing civilization
650:Women and a changing civilisation
644:Virginia Woolf: a Critical Memoir
368:Women and a changing civilisation
337:Women and a changing civilization
212:and was a member of the feminist
159:, in 1917, she chose to join the
1340:"Winifred Holtby's South Riding"
1112:– via www.telegraph.co.uk.
1101:Cumming, Ed (21 February 2011).
851:"Winifred Holtby's South Riding"
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227:In a 1926 article, Holtby wrote:
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727:"Holtby, Winifred (1898–1935)"
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516:Winifred Holtby Memorial Prize
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476:Library in Canada and in the
1178:"South Riding hits the spot"
833:UK public library membership
800:Bishop, Alan (26 May 2005).
757:UK public library membership
429:; in 1974 it was adapted by
324:(1933), a critical study of
255:Holtby began to suffer from
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512:Royal Society of Literature
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250:Baroness Williams of Crosby
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1397:Journalists from Yorkshire
1012:The memoirs of Ethel Smyth
351:who "did more than write "
157:Somerville College, Oxford
145:East Riding County Council
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971:Holtby, Winifred (1978).
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556:The Land of Green Ginger
443:three-part dramatisation
295:The Land of Green Ginger
289:(1924) (re-published by
281:Holtby's early novels –
218:Independent Labour Party
216:. She was active in the
141:East Riding of Yorkshire
57:East Riding of Yorkshire
1422:People from Bridlington
1402:English women novelists
1267:Testament of Friendship
1069:University of Edinburgh
685:Winifred Holtby Academy
478:University of Cape Town
468:. Other papers are in
458:Testament of Friendship
343:and actress and writer
244:and subsequently at 19
210:League of Nations Union
149:Queen Margaret's School
979:. Cassandra Editions.
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742:10.1093/ref:odnb/37563
619:Take Back Your Freedom
574:The Astonishing Island
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353:The March of the Women
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1392:Deaths from nephritis
1260:Vera Brittain: A Life
1008:Smyth, Ethel (1987).
724:Bishop, Alan (2004).
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1327:UK National Archives
884:(19 February 2011).
849:(19 February 2011).
781:. Express Newspapers
435:Yorkshire Television
173:University of Oxford
81:Journalist, novelist
1387:British suffragists
1348:, 19 February 2011.
1155:The Daily Telegraph
656:Letters to a Friend
474:McMaster University
466:Hull History Centre
309:Manchester Guardian
257:high blood pressure
711:; prefatory letter
550:The Crowded Street
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382:social engineering
330:Truth is Not Sober
314:The Schoolmistress
287:The Crowded Street
182:Testament of Youth
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1302:Books and Writers
1298:"Winifred Holtby"
1296:Petri Liukkonen.
1200:www.virago.co.uk/
882:Williams, Shirley
831:(Subscription or
755:(Subscription or
625:Remember Remember
377:League of Nations
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67:29 September 1935
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425:directed by
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69:(1935-09-29)
50:23 June 1898
18:
1367:1935 deaths
1362:1898 births
632:Non-fiction
470:Bridlington
441:produced a
349:suffragists
246:Glebe Place
242:Earls Court
153:Scarborough
1356:Categories
1291:Faded Page
1209:20 January
1074:19 January
1023:0670806552
986:0915864274
956:17 January
926:19 January
919:BBC Online
898:20 January
863:17 January
835:required.)
759:required.)
696:References
187:Hilda Reid
78:Occupation
46:1898-06-23
1235:10 August
995:612418736
823:4 January
493:Yorkshire
453:in 2005.
261:lassitude
232:feminist.
205:refers).
123:Biography
86:Education
59:, England
1293:(Canada)
1161:29 March
1032:17757480
952:. London
894:. London
859:. London
747:24 April
663:See also
332:(1934).
320:(1931),
285:(1923),
277:Writings
785:27 June
779:Express
491:, East
489:Rudston
439:BBC One
137:Rudston
53:Rudston
1204:Virago
1030:
1020:
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652:(1934)
646:(1932)
640:(1929)
602:(1935)
596:(1911)
594:Garden
587:Poetry
576:(1933)
570:(1933)
564:(1931)
558:(1927)
552:(1924)
546:(1923)
538:Novels
527:Soweto
506:Legacy
500:Virago
361:Edward
199:London
104:(1936)
922:. BBC
1237:2010
1211:2017
1163:2012
1135:2017
1110:2017
1076:2017
1028:OCLC
1018:ISBN
991:OCLC
981:ISBN
958:2017
928:2017
900:2017
865:2017
825:2020
787:2022
749:2019
462:Hull
433:for
423:film
193:and
64:Died
40:Born
1315:at
1289:at
1128:BBC
814:doi
738:doi
592:My
445:by
366:In
151:in
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