Ethel Margaret Arnold (bapt. 26 May 1865 – 5 October 1930) was an English journalist, author, and lecturer on female suffrage.
Life
left, Julia and Ethel Arnold in 1872 by
">Lewis Carroll
Arnold was born in 1865, the youngest of eight surviving children of
Tom Arnold Tom Arnold may refer to:
* Tom Arnold (actor) (born 1959), American actor
* Tom Arnold (economist) (born 1948), Irish CEO of Concern Worldwide
* Tom Arnold (footballer) (1878–?), English footballer
* Tom Arnold (literary scholar) (1823–1900), ...
, a professor of literature, and Julia Sorrell.
[ Her uncle was the poet ]Matthew Arnold
Matthew Arnold (24 December 1822 – 15 April 1888) was an English poet and cultural critic who worked as an inspector of schools. He was the son of Thomas Arnold, the celebrated headmaster of Rugby School, and brother to both Tom Arnold, lite ...
and her grandfather Thomas Arnold
Thomas Arnold (13 June 1795 – 12 June 1842) was an English educator and historian. He was an early supporter of the Broad Church Anglican movement. As headmaster of Rugby School from 1828 to 1841, he introduced several reforms that were wide ...
, the famous headmaster of Rugby School
Rugby School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Rugby, Warwickshire, England.
Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain. Up ...
. One of her sisters became the novelist Mary Augusta Ward
Mary Augusta Ward (''née'' Arnold; 11 June 1851 – 24 March 1920) was a British literature, British novelist who wrote under her married name as Mrs Humphry Ward.
She worked to improve education for the poor and she became the founding Pres ...
. Another sister was Julia
Julia is usually a feminine given name. It is a Latinate feminine form of the name Julio and Julius. (For further details on etymology, see the Wiktionary entry "Julius".) The given name ''Julia'' had been in use throughout Late Antiquity (e.g. ...
and she married Leonard Huxley, and their sons were Julian and Aldous Huxley
Aldous Leonard Huxley (26 July 1894 – 22 November 1963) was an English writer and philosopher. He wrote nearly 50 books, both novels and non-fiction works, as well as wide-ranging essays, narratives, and poems.
Born into the prominent Huxley ...
. The Arnolds and the Huxleys were important members of British intelligentsia.
Arnold's father had return to Australia after converting to Catholicism and finding it impossible to work. He worked in Ireland but by 1865 he had renounced Catholicism and returned to being an Anglican. This was a great relief to his wife and the family moved to Oxford where her father thrived.
She met Lewis Carroll
Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (; 27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet and mathematician. His most notable works are ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1865) and its sequel ...
as a child and she and her sister featured in a number of his photographs. For Christmas in 1877, Lewis Carroll devised the word game of Doublets for Julia and Ethel. The game was later published by Vanity Fair and by Carroll. Ethel later reported that she enjoyed the attention of having her photo taken as it was a break from her less than happy homelife. Arnold was to remain friends with Lewis Carroll when she was still an adult.
Ethel failed to gain a university place and she seems to have placed too much weight on her sister Mary's opinion. Mary persuaded her that her ambition to be an actress should not be pursued and she later said that Ethel had insufficient experience to be a successful writer. This was despite Ethel already having a commission for a novel.[
left, Her sister Mrs Ward by Arnold in 1898
Arnold took a late interest in writing between 1890 and 1900 but she spent a lot of her energy in speaking tours where she would address the issue of gaining women the vote.] She wrote 400 book reviews for British newspapers and her one novel "Platonics" was said to be "promising" when it was published in 1896.[ The novel included a lesbian attraction which is resolved when one of them is attracted to a man.] Arnold moved on from writing to take an interest in photography. She studied at the Regent Street Polytechnic
The University of Westminster is a public university, public university based in London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1838 as the Royal Polytechnic Institution, it was the first Polytechnic (United Kingdom), polytechnic to open in London. The Polyte ...
in 1898 and obtained skilful results.[
In 1909 she started a lecture tour of the United States. She spoke at Carnegie Hall filling the orchestra pit and her talks were well received. She returned in 1910 offering a wide range of talks on her notable ancestors and child humorists like Lewis Carroll.] She spoke in St. Louis on April 11 at the invitation of Amabel Anderson Arnold
Amabel Anderson Arnold LL.M. (May 31, 1883 – February 18, 1936) was an American lawyer and law professor who organized the Woman's State Bar Association of Missouri, the first association of women lawyers in the world.
Early life
Amabel Ande ...
and others. The St Louis Equal Suffrage League cited her talk as the inspiration for the organisation's formation.
Arnold died in Totland
Totland is a village, civil parish and electoral ward on the Isle of Wight. Besides the village of Totland, the civil parish comprises the western tip of the Isle of Wight, and includes The Needles, Tennyson Down and the hamlet of Middleton.
The ...
on the Isle of Wight in 1930.[Anne M. Sebba, ‘Arnold, Ethel Margaret (1864/5–1930)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 200]
accessed 6 Nov 2017
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References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arnold, Ethel
1865 births
1930 deaths
British journalists
British lesbian writers
English suffragists
British women writers
People from Harborne