Ethel Edith Mannin (6 October 1900 – 5 December 1984) was a popular British

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire to ...

and

travel writer The genre of travel literature encompasses outdoor literature, guide books, nature writing, and travel memoirs. One early travel memoirist in Western literature was Pausanias, a Greek geographer of the 2nd century CE. In the early modern per ...

political activist A political movement is a collective attempt by a group of people to change government policy or social values. Political movements are usually in opposition to an element of the status quo, and are often associated with a certain ideology. Some t ...

and

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

. She 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 ...

Life and career

Mannin's father, Robert Mannin (d. 1948) was a member of the Socialist League who passed his left-wing beliefs on to his daughter.Ethel Mannin, ''This was a man: some memories of Robert Mannin''. London, Jarrolds 1952. (pp. 24–25) Mannin later stated that: "His socialism went a great deal deeper than any politics or party policy; it was the authentic socialism of the

Early Christians Early Christianity (up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325) spread from the Levant, across the Roman Empire, and beyond. Originally, this progression was closely connected to already established Jewish centers in the Holy Land and the Jewish d ...

, the true communism of 'all things in common' utterly-and tragically-remote from

Stalinism Stalinism is the means of governing and Marxist-Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union from 1927 to 1953 by Joseph Stalin. It included the creation of a one-party totalitarian police state, rapid industrialization, the theory ...

". When at boarding school, following the outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Mannin was asked to write an essay on "Patriotism". Hoping to impress her favourite teacher (a

Communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

sympathiser) Mannin's essay was an advocacy of anti-patriotic and anti-monarchist ideas. For writing the essay, Mannin's headmistress scolded her in front of the whole school and made her kneel in the school hall all afternoon. Mannin often mentioned this incident in her autobiographies as shaping her later politics.

Andy Croft Andy Croft (born 1956) is an English writer, editor, and poet based in North East England."About the Contributors", in Edward J. Carvalho (ed.), ''Acknowledged Legislator: Critical Essays on the Poetry of Martín Espada''. Rowman & Littlefiel ...

, "Ethel Mannin: The Red Rose of Love and the Red Flower of Liberty" in Angela Ingram and

Daphne Patai Daphne Patai (born 1943) is an American scholar and author. She is professor emeritus of the Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Her PhD is in Brazilian literature, but her early work also ...

, (ed.),''Rediscovering Forgotten Radicals : British Women Writers, 1889-1939''.Chapel Hill : University of North Carolina Press, 1993. (p. 205-225). Her writing career began in copy-writing and journalism. She became a prolific author, and also politically and socially concerned. Mannin's memoir of the 1920s, ''Confessions and Impressions'' sold widely and was one of the first

Penguin Penguins (order (biology), order List of Sphenisciformes by population, Sphenisciformes , family (biology), family Spheniscidae ) are a group of Water bird, aquatic flightless birds. They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere: on ...

paperbacks A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, and often held together with glue rather than stitches or staples. In contrast, hardcover (hardback) books are bound with cardboard covered with cloth, ...

. She initially supported the Labour Party but became disillusioned in the 1930s. Initially sympathetic to the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

, a 1936 visit there left her disillusioned with Stalinism, which she described in her book ''South to Samarkand''.''Twentieth century authors, a biographical dictionary of modern literature'', edited by Stanley J. Kunitz and Howard Haycraft; (Third Edition). New York, The H.W. Wilson Company, 1950 (pp. 905–6) According to R. F. FosterRoy Foster, ''W. B. Yeats - A Life, II: The Arch-Poet 1915-1939''. Oxford, 2003, (pp. 504, 510–512). "She was a member of the

Independent Labour Party The Independent Labour Party (ILP) was a British political party of the left, established in 1893 at a conference in Bradford, after local and national dissatisfaction with the Liberals' apparent reluctance to endorse working-class candidates ...

, and her ideology in the 1930s tended to

anarcho-syndicalism Anarcho-syndicalism is a political philosophy and anarchist school of thought that views revolutionary industrial unionism or syndicalism as a method for workers in capitalist society to gain control of an economy and thus control influence in b ...

rather than hardline Communism, but she was emphatically and vociferously left-wing". She came to support

anarchism Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not necessa ...

, and wrote about the Russian-born, American anarchist

Emma Goldman Emma Goldman (June 27, 1869 – May 14, 1940) was a Russian-born anarchist political activist and writer. She played a pivotal role in the development of anarchist political philosophy in North America and Europe in the first half of the ...

, a colleague in the ''

Solidaridad Internacional Antifascista Solidaridad Internacional Antifascista ( en, International Antifascist Solidarity, italic=yes), SIA, was a humanitarian organisation that existed in the Second Spanish Republic. It was politically aligned with the anarcho-syndicalist movement com ...

'' at the time of the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

. Mannin was actively involved in

anti-imperialist Anti-imperialism in political science and international relations is a term used in a variety of contexts, usually by nationalist movements who want to secede from a larger polity (usually in the form of an empire, but also in a multi-ethnic so ...

activity on behalf of African nations during the 1930s, and befriended

George Padmore George Padmore (28 June 1903 – 23 September 1959), born Malcolm Ivan Meredith Nurse, was a leading Pan-Africanist, journalist, and author. He left his native Trinidad in 1924 to study medicine in the United States, where he also joined the Com ...

C. L. R. James Cyril Lionel Robert James (4 January 1901 – 31 May 1989),Fraser, C. Gerald, '' The New York Times'', 2 June 1989. who sometimes wrote under the pen-name J. R. Johnson, was a Trinidadian historian, journalist and Marxist. His works are i ...

and

Chris Braithwaite Chris Braithwaite, also known as Chris Jones (1885 – 9 September 1944), was a black Barbadian who was leader of the Colonial Seamen's Association in the 1930s. Life Born in Barbados, Braithwaite went to sea with the British merchant navy as ...

who were leading figures involved in these movements. Mannin was actively involved in

anti-fascist Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were ...

movements, including the Women's World Committee Against War and Fascism. Mannin supported the military actions of the

Spanish Republic The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931, after the deposition of King Alfonso XIII, and was dissolved on 1 A ...

, but opposed the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Mannin listed

Bart de Ligt Bartholomeus de Ligt (17 July 1883 – 3 September 1938) was a Dutch anarcho-pacifist and antimilitarist. He is chiefly known for his support of conscientious objectors. Life and work Born on 17 July 1883 in Schalkwijk, Utrecht, his father was ...

and A. S. Neill as thinkers who influenced her ideas. She described

W. Somerset Maugham William Somerset Maugham ( ; 25 January 1874 – 16 December 1965) was an English writer, known for his plays, novels and short stories. Born in Paris, where he spent his first ten years, Maugham was schooled in England and went to a German un ...

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 ...

as the writers she most admired, called

Norman Haire Norman Haire, born Norman Zions (21 January 1892, Sydney – 11 September 1952, London) was an Australian medical practitioner and sexologist. He has been called "the most prominent sexologist in Britain" between the wars. Life When Norman was b ...

the "one completely rational person she had ever met" and stated her "opposition to

capital punishment Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

, orthodox education and

blood sports A blood sport or bloodsport is a category of sport or entertainment that involves bloodshed. Common examples of the former include combat sports such as cockfighting and dog fighting, and some forms of hunting and fishing. Activities charact ...

". Mannin's 1944 book ''Bread and Roses: A Utopian Survey and Blue-Print'' has been described by historian Robert Graham as setting forth "an

ecological Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overlaps wi ...

vision in opposition to the prevailing and destructive

industrial Industrial may refer to: Industry * Industrial archaeology, the study of the history of the industry * Industrial engineering, engineering dealing with the optimization of complex industrial processes or systems * Industrial city, a city dominate ...

organization of society". In 1954, Mannin was one of several signatories to a letter protesting against mass executions of Kenyans by the colonial government who had been "charged with offences less than murder". In her seventies, Mannin still described herself as an anti-monarchist "Republican" and a "

Tolstoyan The Tolstoyan movement is a social movement based on the philosophical and religious views of Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy (1828–1910). Tolstoy's views were formed by rigorous study of the ministry of Jesus, particularly the Sermon on the Mo ...

anarchist". She married twice: in 1919, a short-lived relationship from which she gained one daughter, Jean Porteous, a

conscientious objector A conscientious objector (often shortened to conchie) is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion. The term has also been extended to object ...

in WW2, for whom she gave evidence at a Tribunal;''

Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was simply ''The Mirror''. It had an average daily print ...

'', 16 May 1942 and in 1938 to

Reginald Reynolds Reginald Arthur Reynolds (1905 – 16 December 1958) was a British left wing writer, poet, a Quaker and an anti-colonial activist who collaborated with M.K. Gandhi and Horace Alexander. A Quaker, he was General Secretary of the No More W ...

, a

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...

and go-between in India between

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

and the British authorities. In 1934–35 she was in an intense but problematic intellectual, emotional and physical relationship with

W. B. Yeats William Butler Yeats (13 June 186528 January 1939) was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer and one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival and became a pillar of the Irish liter ...

, who was on the rebound from Margot Ruddock and about to fall for

Dorothy Wellesley Dorothy Violet Wellesley, Duchess of Wellington ( Ashton; 30 July 1889 – 11 July 1956), styled Lady Gerald Wellesley between 1914 and 1943, was an England, English author, poet, literary editor and socialite. Background She was born in Wh ...

(a detailed account is in R. F. Foster's life of Yeats, concluding mainly that her emotional engagement was much less than his). She also had a well-publicised affair with

Bertrand Russell Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970) was a British mathematician, philosopher, logician, and public intellectual. He had a considerable influence on mathematics, logic, set theory, linguistics, ...

Works

Autobiographies

*''Confessions and Impressions'' (1930) *''Privileged Spectator'' (1939) *''Connemara Journal'' (1947) *''Brief Voices'' (1959) *''Young in the Twenties: A Chapter of Autobiography'' (1971) *''Sunset over Dartmoor: A Final Chapter of Autobiography'' (1977)

Other works

*''Martha'' (1923) *''Hunger of the Sea'' (1924) *''Sounding Brass'' (1925) *''Three New Love Stories'' (1925) with

Warwick Deeping George Warwick Deeping (28 May 1877 – 20 April 1950) was an English novelist and short story writer, whose best-known novel was '' Sorrell and Son'' (1925). Life Born in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, into a family of physicians, Warwick Deeping ...

and

Gilbert Frankau Gilbert Frankau (21 April 1884 – 4 November 1952) was a popular British novelist. He was known also for verse (he was a war poet of World War I), including a number of verse novels, and short stories. He was born in London into a Jewish fami ...

*''Pilgrims'' (1927) *''Green Willows'' (1928) *''Crescendo, Being the Dark Odyssey of Gilbert Stroud'' (1929) *''Children of the Earth'' (1930) * '' Song of the Bomber'' (1936) *''Ragged Banners'' (1931) *''Bruised Wings and Other Stories'' (1931) *''Common-sense and the Child'' (1931) *''Green Figs'' (1931) stories *''The Tinsel Eden and Other Stories'' (1931) *''All Experience'' (1932) *''Linda Shawn'' (1932) *''Love's Winnowing'' (1932) *''Venetian Blinds'' (1933) *''Dryad'' (1933) stories *''Men Are Unwise'' (1934) *''Some Adventures With A School'' (1934) with Margaret Johnston *''Cactus'' (1935) *''Forever Wandering'' (1935) *''The Falconer's Voice'' (1935) *''Forbidden Music'' (1935) *
South to Samarkand
' (1936) *''Spain and Us'' (with

J. B. Priestley John Boynton Priestley (; 13 September 1894 – 14 August 1984) was an English novelist, playwright, screenwriter, broadcaster and social commentator. His Yorkshire background is reflected in much of his fiction, notably in ''The Good Compa ...

Rebecca West Dame Cicily Isabel Fairfield (21 December 1892 – 15 March 1983), known as Rebecca West, or Dame Rebecca West, was a British author, journalist, literary critic and travel writer. An author who wrote in many genres, West reviewed books ...

Stephen Spender Sir Stephen Harold Spender (28 February 1909 – 16 July 1995) was an English poet, novelist and essayist whose work concentrated on themes of social injustice and the class struggle. He was appointed Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry by the ...

Francis Meynell Sir Francis Meredith Wilfrid Meynell (12 May 1891 – 10 July 1975) was a British poet and printer at The Nonesuch Press. Early career He was the son of the journalist and publisher Wilfrid Meynell and the poet Alice Meynell, a suffragist a ...

Louis Golding Louis Golding (19 November 1895 – 9 August 1958) was an English writer, very famous in his time especially for his novels, though he is now largely neglected; he wrote also short stories, essays, fantasies, travel books, and poetry. Life Bor ...

T. F. Powys Theodore Francis Powys (20 December 1875 – 27 November 1953) – published as T. F. Powys – was a British novelist and short-story writer."Powys, Theodore Francis" in Christine L. Krueger, ''Encyclopedia of British Writers, 19th and 20th Ce ...

, J. Langdon-Davies,

Catherine Carswell Catherine Roxburgh Carswell (née Macfarlane; 27 March 1879 – 18 February 1946) was a Scottish author, biographer and journalist, now known as one of the few women to take part in the Scottish Renaissance. Her biography of the Scottish poet Ro ...

) (1936) *''The Pure Flame'' (1936) *''Sounding Brass'' (1937) *''Women Also Dream'' (1937) *''Common-Sense and the Adolescent'' (1937) *''Women and the Revolution'' (1938) *''Rose and Sylvie'' (1938) *''Darkness My Bride'' (1938) *''Julie: The story of a dance-hostess'' (1940) *''Rolling in the Dew'' (1940) *''Against Race-Hatred and for a Socialist Peace'' (with

Richard Acland Sir Richard Thomas Dyke Acland, 15th Baronet (26 November 1906 – 24 November 1990) was one of the founding members of the British Common Wealth Party in 1942, having previously been a Liberal Member of Parliament (MP). He joined the Labour Pa ...

Vera Brittain Vera Mary Brittain (29 December 1893 – 29 March 1970) was an English Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) nurse, writer, feminist, socialist and pacifist. Her best-selling 1933 memoir '' Testament of Youth'' recounted her experiences during the Fir ...

G. D. H. Cole George Douglas Howard Cole (25 September 1889 – 14 January 1959) was an English political theorist, economist, and historian. As a believer in common ownership of the means of production, he theorised guild socialism (production organised ...

Victor Gollancz Sir Victor Gollancz (; 9 April 1893 – 8 February 1967) was a British publisher and humanitarian. Gollancz was known as a supporter of left-wing causes. His loyalties shifted between liberalism and communism, but he defined himself as a Christ ...

Augustus John Augustus Edwin John (4 January 1878 – 31 October 1961) was a Welsh painter, draughtsman, and etcher. For a time he was considered the most important artist at work in Britain: Virginia Woolf remarked that by 1908 the era of John Singer Sarg ...

James Maxton James Maxton (22 June 1885 – 23 July 1946) was a British left-wing politician, and leader of the Independent Labour Party. He was a pacifist who opposed both world wars. A prominent proponent of Home Rule for Scotland, he is remembered as on ...

and J. B Priestley) (1940) *''Commonsense and Morality'' (1941) *''Red Rose: A Novel based on the Life of

'' (1941) *''Captain Moonlight'' (1942) *''The Blossoming Bough'' (1942) *''Castles in the Street'' (1942) *''Proud Heaven'' (1943) *''No More Mimosa'' (1943) *''Bread and Roses: An Utopian Survey and Blue-Print'' (1944) *''Comrade O Comrade, or, Low-Down on the Left'' (1945) *''Lucifer and the Child'' (1945) *''Christianity or Chaos?'' (1946) *''Selected Stories'' (1946) *''The Dark Forest'' (1946) *''Why I Am Still a Pacifist'' (with

Catherina de Ligt Catherina is a feminine given name. Notable people with the name include: * Dona Catherina of Kandy (died 1613), ruling Queen of Kandy in 1581 * Catherina Boevey (1669–1726), English philanthropist * Catherina Cibbini-Kozeluch, (1785–1858), Au ...

, Hugh Fausset,

Laurence Housman Laurence Housman (; 18 July 1865 – 20 February 1959) was an English playwright, writer and illustrator whose career stretched from the 1890s to the 1950s. He studied art in London. He was a younger brother of the poet A. E. Housman and his s ...

Clare Sheridan Clare Consuelo Sheridan (née Frewen; 9 September 1885 – 31 May 1970), was an English sculptor, journalist and writer known primarily for creating busts for famous sitters and writing diaries recounting her worldly travels. She was a cousin ...

, Alex Wood, and Myrtle Wright) (1946). *''Bavarian Story'' (1948) *''German Journey'' (1948) *''Late Have I Loved Thee'' (1948) *''Every Man a Stranger'' (1949) *''Jungle Journey: 7000 Miles through India and Pakistan'' (1950) *''At Sundown the Tiger'' (1951) *''The Fields at Evening'' (1952) *''The Wild Swans and Other Tales Based on the Ancient Irish'' (1952) *''This Was a Man: Some Memories of Robert Mannin by His Daughter'' (1952) *''Lover under Another Name'' (1953) *''Moroccan Mosaic'' (1953) *''So Tiberius …'' (1954) *''Two Studies in Integrity: Gerald Griffin and the Rev. Francis Mahony'' ("Father Prout") (1954) *''Land of the Crested Lion: A Journey through Modern Burma'' (1955) *''The Living Lotus'' (1956) *''Pity the Innocent'' (1957) *''The Country of the Sea: Some Wanderings in Brittany'' (1957) *''Fragrance of Hyacinths'' (1958) *''Ann and Peter in Sweden'' (1959) *''The Blue-eyed Boy'' (1959) *''Ann and Peter in Japan'' (1960) *''The Flowery Sword: Travels in Japan'' (1960) *''Sabishisha'' (1961) *''Ann and Peter in Austria'' (1962) *''Curfew at Dawn'' (1962) *''With Will Adams Through Japan'' (1962) *''A Lance for the Arabs: A Middle East Journey'' (1963) *''The Road to

Beersheba Beersheba or Beer Sheva, officially Be'er-Sheva ( he, בְּאֵר שֶׁבַע, ''Bəʾēr Ševaʿ'', ; ar, بئر السبع, Biʾr as-Sabʿ, Well of the Oath or Well of the Seven), is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. ...

'' ( Hutchinson, 1963). *''Aspects of Egypt: Some Travels in the United Arab Republic'' (1964) *''Rebels' Ride. A Consideration of the Revolt of the Individual'' (1964) *''Report from Iraq'' (1964) *''Lovely Land: The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan'' (1965) *''The Burning Bush'' (1965) *''Loneliness: A Study of the Human Condition'' (1966) *''The Night and Its Homing'' (1966) *''The Lady and the Mystic'' (1967) *''An American Journey'' (1967) *''Bitter Babylon'' (1968) *''England for a Change'' (1968) *''The Saga of Sammy-Cat'' (1969) *''Practitioners of Love. Some Aspects of the Human Phenomenon'' (1969) *''The Midnight Street'' (1969) *''England at Large'' (1970) *''Free Pass to Nowhere'' (1970) *''My Cat Sammy'' (1971) *''England My Adventure'' (1972) *''The Curious Adventure of Major Fosdick'' (1972) *''Mission to Beirut'' (1973) *''Stories from My Life'' (1973) *''An Italian Journey'' (1974) *''Kildoon'' (1974) *''The Late Miss Guthrie'' (1976)

Short stories

*’’The Unremembered Years’’. John Bull, 28 December 1929

References

External links

Ethel Mannin page
Stan Iverson Archives

* John Newsinger

''Socialist Review'', 428 (October 2017) * John Newsinger
Ethel Mannin, women and the revolution
''International Socialism'', 173 (2022). {{DEFAULTSORT:Mannin, Ethel 1900 births 1984 deaths 20th-century English novelists 20th-century English women writers Anti-Stalinist left British anarchists British anti-fascists British pacifists British people of Irish descent British republicans British social commentators British travel writers British women travel writers English women novelists Green anarchists People from Clapham Writers from London