Read book Sheila Rowbotham - Friends of Alice Wheeldon : Suffragism, Socialism and the Assassination of Lloyd George PDF, FB2, MOBI
9780745335759 English 0745335756 An account of the trial of socialist, suffragette and anti-war campaigner Alice Wheeldon for the assassination of Lloyd George., Friends of Alice Wheeldon is a remarkable play by Sheila Rowbotham that re-enacts the 1917 trial and subsequent imprisonment of Wheeldon for her alleged role in plotting to assassinate the Prime Minister Lloyd George. It is prefaced by an extended essay 'Rebel Networks in the First World War'.With an overall feeling of claustrophobia and anger, the play recounts how Alice's involvement in socialism, suffragism and the anti-war movement did not endear her to the establishment, and in times of growing class antagonism and war how the government needed a traitor.The controversial trial became something of a cause clbre - a show trial at the height of the First World War - based on fabricated evidence from a criminally insane fantasist 'Alex Gordon' who was working for an undercover intelligence agency. It was a travesty of justice.First published nearly thirty years ago, this new edition points readers to subsequent research into the case and the ongoing campaign to clear Alice Wheeldon's name. It offers a necessary corrective to the more triumphalist commemorations of the First World War., In 1917 a Derby socialist and feminist in the anti-war movement, Alice Wheeldon was sent to prison on the evidence of an agent provocateur for plotting to kill Lloyd George. The evidence was flimsy, her accuser so dubious the prosecution kept him away from the trial.In this new, revised edition Sheila Rowbotham reveals how militarism and fears about security contrived to devastate the lives of an ordinary family in Derby. The Wheeldon case is both a tragic historical story and contains an immediate reminder for today of the need to protect individual freedoms., The Friends of Alice Wheeldon, first published nearly thirty years ago, is a remarkable account by feminist historian Sheila Rowbotham of the 1917 trial and subsequent imprisonment of Derby-born Alice Wheeldon, and two of her daughters, for their alleged role in plotting to assassinate the Prime Minister, Lloyd George.Alice's involvement in socialism, suffragism and the anti-war movement could not have endeared her to the powers that be, and in times of growing class antagonism and war the government needed a traitor - so they found one in the modest figure of Alice Wheeldon and her family.The controversial trial itself became something of a cause celebre - a show trial, at the height of the First World War, based on fabricated evidence - much of it from a criminally insane fantasist 'Alex Gordon' who was working as an undercover agent for MI5. Intended to discredit anti-war campaigners and bring the peace movement into disrepute, it was a travesty of justice.In this new, revised edition, Sheila Rowbotham has been able to draw on continuing research into the case - and the ongoing campaign to clear Alice Wheeldon's name - to offer a necessary corrective to some of the more triumphalist commemorations of the First World War. And to offer a potent reminder that a miscarriage of justice cannot go unremarked if we are to honour those who fought and continue to fight against the horrors of war.
9780745335759 English 0745335756 An account of the trial of socialist, suffragette and anti-war campaigner Alice Wheeldon for the assassination of Lloyd George., Friends of Alice Wheeldon is a remarkable play by Sheila Rowbotham that re-enacts the 1917 trial and subsequent imprisonment of Wheeldon for her alleged role in plotting to assassinate the Prime Minister Lloyd George. It is prefaced by an extended essay 'Rebel Networks in the First World War'.With an overall feeling of claustrophobia and anger, the play recounts how Alice's involvement in socialism, suffragism and the anti-war movement did not endear her to the establishment, and in times of growing class antagonism and war how the government needed a traitor.The controversial trial became something of a cause clbre - a show trial at the height of the First World War - based on fabricated evidence from a criminally insane fantasist 'Alex Gordon' who was working for an undercover intelligence agency. It was a travesty of justice.First published nearly thirty years ago, this new edition points readers to subsequent research into the case and the ongoing campaign to clear Alice Wheeldon's name. It offers a necessary corrective to the more triumphalist commemorations of the First World War., In 1917 a Derby socialist and feminist in the anti-war movement, Alice Wheeldon was sent to prison on the evidence of an agent provocateur for plotting to kill Lloyd George. The evidence was flimsy, her accuser so dubious the prosecution kept him away from the trial.In this new, revised edition Sheila Rowbotham reveals how militarism and fears about security contrived to devastate the lives of an ordinary family in Derby. The Wheeldon case is both a tragic historical story and contains an immediate reminder for today of the need to protect individual freedoms., The Friends of Alice Wheeldon, first published nearly thirty years ago, is a remarkable account by feminist historian Sheila Rowbotham of the 1917 trial and subsequent imprisonment of Derby-born Alice Wheeldon, and two of her daughters, for their alleged role in plotting to assassinate the Prime Minister, Lloyd George.Alice's involvement in socialism, suffragism and the anti-war movement could not have endeared her to the powers that be, and in times of growing class antagonism and war the government needed a traitor - so they found one in the modest figure of Alice Wheeldon and her family.The controversial trial itself became something of a cause celebre - a show trial, at the height of the First World War, based on fabricated evidence - much of it from a criminally insane fantasist 'Alex Gordon' who was working as an undercover agent for MI5. Intended to discredit anti-war campaigners and bring the peace movement into disrepute, it was a travesty of justice.In this new, revised edition, Sheila Rowbotham has been able to draw on continuing research into the case - and the ongoing campaign to clear Alice Wheeldon's name - to offer a necessary corrective to some of the more triumphalist commemorations of the First World War. And to offer a potent reminder that a miscarriage of justice cannot go unremarked if we are to honour those who fought and continue to fight against the horrors of war.