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19th century books
Nov. 1st, 2018 07:36 pmWhile Catherine Helen Spence’s autobiography was published in 1910, I have sneaked it into the nineteenth century challenge on the grounds that is outlines her long nineteenth century life.
Spence’s life, as described by herself, was one of constant stimulation. After emigrating to South Australia in 1839 with her family after her father was ‘ruined’ financially, she appears to have lived very happily as a single woman involved in everything. She went everywhere and met everyone. Her list of acquaintance is like a who’s who of the nineteenth century. She knew the Australian Federalists intimately because of her decades-long advocacy for preferential voting. She ran for the Federal Convention in 1897, being Australia’s first female political candidate (came 22nd of 33). She met with Harriet Tubman, Susan B Anthony and Mrs Fawcett because her work for women’s votes (which she regarded as part of the larger problem of fair voting). She wrote novels and met with George Eliot.
She was a tireless crusader for improvements to children’s homes, and an inspector of the State’s charity for the elderly. At different times she was a theosophist, an agnostic, a Unitarian and a rationalist. She was the first woman to run for office in South Australia. She had opinions on everything. She believed Mrs Oliphant to be superior to Eliot in style and theme. She designed better menus for orphanages. She lectured on Barrett Browning and Baconism (the theory that Shakespeare’s works were written by Bacon). She was a journalist and a teacher. She wrote text books. She was the first woman to read papers at the South Australian Institute. She delivered sermons in Church. She had radical ideas about tax reform.
Spence’s life, as described by herself, was one of constant stimulation. After emigrating to South Australia in 1839 with her family after her father was ‘ruined’ financially, she appears to have lived very happily as a single woman involved in everything. She went everywhere and met everyone. Her list of acquaintance is like a who’s who of the nineteenth century. She knew the Australian Federalists intimately because of her decades-long advocacy for preferential voting. She ran for the Federal Convention in 1897, being Australia’s first female political candidate (came 22nd of 33). She met with Harriet Tubman, Susan B Anthony and Mrs Fawcett because her work for women’s votes (which she regarded as part of the larger problem of fair voting). She wrote novels and met with George Eliot.
She was a tireless crusader for improvements to children’s homes, and an inspector of the State’s charity for the elderly. At different times she was a theosophist, an agnostic, a Unitarian and a rationalist. She was the first woman to run for office in South Australia. She had opinions on everything. She believed Mrs Oliphant to be superior to Eliot in style and theme. She designed better menus for orphanages. She lectured on Barrett Browning and Baconism (the theory that Shakespeare’s works were written by Bacon). She was a journalist and a teacher. She wrote text books. She was the first woman to read papers at the South Australian Institute. She delivered sermons in Church. She had radical ideas about tax reform.
