Dorothy Gardiner (born Dorothy Kempe) (31 August 1873 – 23 January 1957) was a British non-fiction writer and historian.

Life

Gardiner was born in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in 1873. Her parents were Mary Jane, Lady Kempe and Sir John Arrow Kempe, who served as

Comptroller and Auditor General An auditor general, also known in some countries as a comptroller general or comptroller and auditor general, is a senior civil servant charged with improving government accountability by auditing and reporting on the government's operations. Fr ...

. Her uncles included the amateur mathematician

Sir Alfred Bray Kempe Sir Alfred Bray Kempe FRS (6 July 1849 – 21 April 1922) was a mathematician best known for his work on linkages and the four colour theorem. Biography Kempe was the son of the Rector of St James's Church, Piccadilly, the Rev. John Edward K ...

and the electrical engineer Harry Robert Kempe. She benefitted and was later aware of the improvements that had been made in the educational opportunities open to women. She was able to study English in Oxford at

Lady Margaret Hall Lady Margaret Hall (LMH) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, located on the banks of the River Cherwell at Norham Gardens in north Oxford and adjacent to the University Parks. The college is more formall ...

and gained a third class degree. Gardiner wrote poetry which was published in periodicals. She wrote for the

Early English Text Society The Early English Text Society (EETS) is a text publication society founded in 1864 which is dedicated to the editing and publication of early English texts, especially those only available in manuscript. Most of its volumes contain editions of ...

, ''The Legend of the Holy Grail: Its Sources, Character and Development'' in 1905. In the following year she began working for the

Society for the Propagation of the Gospel United Society Partners in the Gospel (USPG) is a United Kingdom-based charitable organization (registered charity no. 234518). It was first incorporated under Royal Charter in 1701 as the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Part ...

. She was the honorary secretary of their committee on women's work until 1910. She decided to study the improvements that had been made in the educational opportunities open to women. She started ten years of work in about 1919. The resulting work published in 1929 was ''English Girlhood at School: A Study of Women's Education Through Twelve Centuries''. She played down the effect of icons like

Mary Wollstonecraft Mary Wollstonecraft (, ; 27 April 1759 – 10 September 1797) was a British writer, philosopher, and advocate of women's rights. Until the late 20th century, Wollstonecraft's life, which encompassed several unconventional personal relationsh ...

and the Blue Stockings. A 2013 view by Jackie Eales notes the work as solid but with outdated conclusions. Gardiner's other works include ''A Social History of Sussex'' in 1912; ''Canterbury'' in 1923; ''Companion into Kent'' in 1934; ''The Oxinden Letters, 1607–1662'' in 1933 and ''The Oxinden and Peyton Letters'', 1642–1667 in 1937 were based on those of the 17th century poet Henry Oxenden. He was a collector of letters. Not just letters to himself but letters by people he knew.

Private life

Gardiner married Thory Gage Gardiner whe he was the Rector of Lambeth. He went on to be a residential canon of

Canterbury Cathedral Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England. It forms part of a World Heritage Site. It is the cathedral of the Archbishop of Canterbury, currently Justin Welby, leader of the ...

. They had no children. Gardiner died at her home in 1957 in

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

. She had been one of Canterbury's councillor kaking an interest in education, a justice of the peace and chair of Canterbury Archaeological Society.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gardiner, Dorothy 1873 births 1957 deaths People from London British women historians