Bessie Lyle Hatton (22 November 1867 – 25 March 1964) was an English actress, playwright, journalist, and

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

, and took part in the struggle for women's suffrage in the United Kingdom.

Life

Hatton was born on 22 November 1867 in Claines, Worcestershire. Her father was Joseph Hatton, a novelist and journalist, and her mother was Louisa Johnson, her elder brother was explorer Frank Hatton. She was educated at a convent school in Ardennes and at

Bedford College, London file:Bedford College in York place - photographer is unknown but guess 1908.png, Bedford College was in York Place after 1874 Bedford College was founded in London in 1849 as the first higher education college for education of women, women in th ...

, however she left college to join Frank Benson's company who were performing Shakespeare. She performed in ''Judah'' at the Shaftesbury Theatre with Gertrude Warden in 1890. On the advice of her father and despite her concerns that it might interfere with her acting career, Hatton authored several popular works of fiction, including ''The Village of Youth and Other Fairytales'' (1895) and her play ''Before Sunrise''. This play was staged at the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

on 11 December 1909 for the Women's Freedom League. In June 1908 she and fellow actress and writer Cicely Mary Hamilton founded the

Women Writers' Suffrage League The Women Writers' Suffrage League (WWSL) was an organisation in the United Kingdom formed in 1908 by Cicely Hamilton and Bessie Hatton. The organisation stated that it wanted "to obtain the Parliamentary Franchise for women on the same terms as ...

. The organisation was open to both men and women, and each affiliation. Hatton was the organising secretary, took part in events, and organised entertainment for the suffrage meetings. When World War I broke out, The Women Writers Suffrage League helped establish a library at

Endell Street Military Hospital Endell Street Military Hospital was a First World War military hospital located on Endell Street in Covent Garden, central London. The hospital was substantially staffed by suffragists (women who supported the introduction of votes for women). ...

, and helped organise recreation at the hospital. Hatton never married, and would go on to die on 25 March 1964.

References

External links

Anna Andes analyses 'Before Sunrise' in her essay 'Burgeoning New Women of Suffrage Drama: Envisioning an Autonomous Self' http://www.thelatchkey.org/Latchkey6/essay/Andes.htm in The Latchkey: Journal of New Women Studies {{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton, Cicely 20th-century English novelists English suffragists English feminists English feminist writers English stage actresses English women dramatists and playwrights English women novelists Women of the Victorian era British women travel writers English travel writers Women science fiction and fantasy writers 20th-century English women writers Year of death unknown 1867 births