Margot Claire Heinemann (18 November 1913 – 10 June 1992) was a British Marxist writer, drama scholar, and leading member of the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB).

Early life

She was born at 89 Priory Road,

West Hampstead West Hampstead is an area in the London Borough of Camden in north-west London. Mainly defined by the railway stations of the same name, it is situated between Childs Hill to the north, Frognal and Hampstead to the north-east, Swiss Cottage ...

, London NW6. Her parents were Meyer Max Heinemann, a merchant banker, and Selma Schott, both non-Orthodox Jews from

Frankfurt, Germany Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its ...

.H Gustav Klaus: "Heinemann, Margot Claire (1913–1992)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004, accessed 5 May 2014
/ref> Heinemann was educated at

Roedean School Roedean School is an independent day and boarding school founded in 1885 in Roedean Village on the outskirts of Brighton, East Sussex, England, and governed by Royal Charter. It is for girls aged 11 to 18. The campus is situated near the Sus ...

and at King Alfred School in London, and read English at

Newnham College, Cambridge Newnham College is a women's constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1871 by a group organising Lectures for Ladies, members of which included philosopher Henry Sidgwick and suffragist campaigner Millicen ...

from 1931, later graduating from Cambridge University with a BA with first class honours. She was the lover of John Cornford, while a student at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

. The historian Eric Hobsbawm, who was also there at the time, wrote "she probably had more influence on me than any other person I have known."

Career

She joined the CPGB in 1934, because of its active opposition to the British Union of Fascists. After Cambridge she taught 14-year-old girls at Cadbury's Continuation School in Bournville, now Bournville College, on day release from the chocolate factory. In the CPGB she worked in the

Labour Research Department The Labour Research Department (LRD) is an independent trade union based research organisation, based in London, that provides information to support trade union activity and campaigns. About 2,000 trade union organisations, including 51 national ...

from 1937. She stood as the communist candidate for

Vauxhall Vauxhall ( ) is a district in South West London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. Vauxhall was part of Surrey until 1889 when the County of London was created. Named after a medieval manor, "Fox Hall", it became well known for ...

Constituency in the 1950 General Election. In 1959 she resumed teaching at

Camden School for Girls The Camden School for Girls (CSG) is a comprehensive secondary school for girls, with a co-educational sixth form, in the London Borough of Camden in north London. It has about one thousand students of ages eleven to eighteen, and specialist- ...

and then

Goldsmiths College Goldsmiths, University of London, officially the Goldsmiths' College, is a constituent research university of the University of London in England. It was originally founded in 1891 as The Goldsmiths' Technical and Recreative Institute by the Wo ...

from 1965 to 1977. In 1976 she was made a

Fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

New Hall, Cambridge New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

. She was still teaching at New Hall up to 1989 and stayed with the CPGB until it was dissolved in 1991.

Personal life

She had a child (Jane, b. 1953) with

John Desmond Bernal John Desmond Bernal (; 10 May 1901 – 15 September 1971) was an Irish scientist who pioneered the use of X-ray crystallography in molecular biology. He published extensively on the history of science. In addition, Bernal wrote popular book ...

Works

* ''Britain's coal: A Study of the Mining Crisis'', Left Book Club, 1944 * ''Wages Front'', 1947, Labour Research Department * ''Coal must come first'', 1948, prepared for the Labour Research Department * ''The Tories and how to beat them'', Communist Party, 1951 * ''The Adventurers'', 1960 (novel) * ''Britain in the Nineteen Thirties'', 1971 (with

Noreen Branson Noreen Branson (16 May 1910 – 25 October 2003) was a British communist activist, historian, founder of ''Revolt'' newspaper, and a life-long member of the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB). In 1931 she married fellow communist and Inte ...

) * ''Experiments in English Teaching - New Work in Higher and Further Education'' 1976 (editor with David Craig) * ''Culture and Crisis in Britain in the 30s'', 1979 (with Jon Clark, David Margolies and Carole Snee) * ''Puritanism and Theatre: Thomas Middleton and Opposition Drama under the Early Stuarts'', 1980 * ''History and the Imagination - Selected Writings of AL Morton'', 1990 (editor)

References

*David Margolies and Maroula Joannou, editors (2002) ''Heart of the Heartless World: Essays in Cultural Resistance in Memory of Margot Heinemann'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Heinemann, Margot 1913 births 1992 deaths Alumni of Newnham College, Cambridge Communist Party of Great Britain members English anti-fascists English people of German-Jewish descent Fellows of New Hall, Cambridge Marxist writers English Jewish writers Jewish socialists People educated at Roedean School, East Sussex People educated at South Hampstead High School 20th-century British women writers 20th-century British non-fiction writers Communist women writers