Dame Margaret Isabel Cole (née
Postgate; 6 May 1893 – 7 May 1980) was an English
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 ...
politician
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...
, writer and poet. She wrote several detective stories jointly with her husband,
G. D. H. Cole. She went on to hold important posts in London government after the Second World War.
Life
A daughter of
John Percival Postgate and Edith (née Allen) Postgate, Margaret 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
Girton College, Cambridge
Girton College is one of the 31 constituent colleges of the University of Cambridge. The college was established in 1869 by Emily Davies and Barbara Bodichon as the first women's college in Cambridge. In 1948, it was granted full college statu ...
. While reading of
H. G. Wells,
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...
and others at Girton, she came to question the
Anglicanism of her upbringing and to embrace socialism after reading notable books on the subject.
[Marc Stears, "Cole , Dame Margaret Isabel (1893–1980)", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 200]
accessed 6 May 2017
Having completed her course (Cambridge did not allow women to graduate formally until 1947), Margaret became a
classics teacher at
St Paul's Girls' School
St Paul's Girls' School is an independent day school for girls, aged 11 to 18, located in Brook Green, Hammersmith, in West London, England.
History
St Paul's Girls' School was founded by the Worshipful Company of Mercers in 1904, using part o ...
. Her poem ''The Falling Leaves'', a response to the First World War, and currently on the OCR English Literature syllabus at
GCSE, shows the influence of Latin poetry in its use of long and short syllables to create mimetic effects.
Pacifist period
During
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 ...
, her brother
Raymond Postgate
Raymond William Postgate (6 November 1896 – 29 March 1971) was an English socialist, writer, journalist and editor, social historian, mystery novelist, and gourmet who founded the '' Good Food Guide''. He was a member of the Postgate fa ...
sought exemption from military service as a
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 ...
conscientious objector, but was denied recognition and jailed for refusing military orders. Her support for her brother led her to a belief in
pacifism
Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaign ...
. During her subsequent campaign against
conscription, she met
G. D. H. Cole, whom she married in a registry office in August 1918.
[ The couple worked together for the ]Fabian Society
The Fabian Society is a British socialist organisation whose purpose is to advance the principles of social democracy and democratic socialism via gradualist and reformist effort in democracies, rather than by revolutionary overthrow. T ...
before moving to Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
in 1924, where they both taught and wrote.
In the early 1930s, Margaret abandoned her pacifism in reaction to the suppression of socialist movements by governments in Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
and Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
and to events in 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, link ...
.
Education work
In 1941, Margaret Cole was co-opted onto the Education Committee of the London County Council
London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kno ...
, nominated by Herbert Morrison
Herbert Stanley Morrison, Baron Morrison of Lambeth, (3 January 1888 – 6 March 1965) was a British politician who held a variety of senior positions in the UK Cabinet as member of the Labour Party. During the inter-war period, he was Minis ...
, and became a champion of comprehensive education
Comprehensive may refer to:
* Comprehensive layout, the page layout of a proposed design as initially presented by the designer to a client.
*Comprehensive school, a state school that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement ...
. She was an alderman
An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members t ...
on London County Council from 1952 until the council's abolition in 1965. She was a member of the Inner London Education Authority
The Inner London Education Authority (ILEA) was an ad hoc local education authority for the City of London and the 12 Inner London boroughs from 1965 until its abolition in 1990. The authority was reconstituted as a directly elected body corp ...
from its creation in 1965 until her retirement from public life in 1967.
Harold Wilson had given her an OBE in 1965 and she became a Dame when she was awarded a DBE in 1970 for services to Local Government and Education.[ Dame Margaret Cole died on 7 May 1980, the day after her 87th birthday. Her estate was valued at £137,957.
]
Writings
Cole wrote several books, including a biography of her husband. Her brother Raymond was a labour historian, journalist and novelist. She and her husband jointly authored many mystery novels.
Margaret and her husband created a partnership, but not a full marriage: her husband took little interest in sex and regarded women as a distraction from men. Nevertheless, they had a son and two daughters. Margaret Cole comprehensively documented their life together in a biography she wrote of her husband after his death.
Detective fiction
Novels and Short Story Collections
G. D. H. Cole
''The Brooklyn Murders'' (1923). Margaret Cole did not contribute to this novel, which is noted here solely to pre-empt confusion.
G. D. H. and M. Cole
*''The Death of a Millionaire'' (1925)
*''The Blatchington Tangle'' (1926). Serialised, The Daily Herald (1926)
*''The Murder at Crome House'' (1927)
*''The Man from the River'' (1928)
*''Superintendent Wilson's Holiday'' (1928)
*''Poison in the Garden Suburb'' (1929); serialised, The Daily Herald (1929). Also known as ''Poison in a Garden Suburb''
*''Burglars in Bucks'' (1930) aka ''The Berkshire Mystery''
*''Corpse in Canonicals'' (1930) aka ''The Corpse in the Constable's Garden''
*''The Great Southern Mystery'' (1931) aka ''The Walking Corpse''
*''Dead Man's Watch (1931)
*''Death of a Star'' (1932)
*''A Lesson in Crime'' (1933)
**A Lesson in Crime; A Question of Coincidence; Mr. Steven's Insurance Policy; Blackmail in the Village; The Cliff Path Ghost; Sixteen Years Run; Wilson Calling (Wilson); The Brentwardine Mystery; The Mother of the Detective; A Dose of Cyanide; Superintendent Wakley's Mistake.
*''The Affair at Aliquid'' (1933)
*''End of an Ancient Mariner'' (1933)
*''Death in the Quarry'' (1934)
*''Big Business Murder'' (1935)
*''Dr Tancred Begins'' (1935)
*''Scandal at School'' (1935) aka ''The Sleeping Death''
*''Last Will and Testament'' (1936)
*''The Brothers Sackville'' (1936)
*''Disgrace to the College'' (1937)
*''The Missing Aunt'' (1937)
*''Mrs Warrender's Profession'' (1938)
*''Off with her Head!'' (1938)
*''Double Blackmail'' (1939)
*''Greek Tragedy'' (1939)
*''Wilson and Some Others'' (1940)
**Death in a Tankard (Wilson); Murder in Church (Wilson); The Bone of the Dinosaur (Wilson); A Tale of Two Suitcases (Wilson); The Motive (Wilson); Glass (Wilson); Murder in Broad Daylight (Wilson); Ye Olde Englysshe Christmasse or Detection in the Eighteenth Century; The Letters; The Partner; A Present from the Empire; The Strange Adventures of a Chocolate Box; Strychnine Tonic.
*''Murder at the Munition Works'' (1940)
*''Counterpoint Murder'' (1940)
*''Knife in the Dark'' (1941)
*''Toper's End'' (1942)
*''Death of a Bride'' (1945)
*''Birthday Gifts'' (1946)
*''The Toys of Death'' (1948)
Radio plays
G. D. H. and M. Cole
*''Murder in Broad Daylight''. BBC Home Service, 1 June 1934
*''The Bone of the Dinosaur''. (Detection Club: Series 1, Episode 6). BBC Home Service, 23 and 27 November 1940
Bibliography
*Margaret Cole (1949): ''Growing up into Revolution''
*M. I. Cole (1971): ''The Life of G. D. H. Cole'',
* Naomi Mitchison (1982): ''Margaret Cole, 1893–1980'',
*B. D. Vernon (1986): ''Margaret Cole, 1893–1980: A Political Biography'',
*See under G. D. H. Cole for joint works
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cole, Margaret
1893 births
1980 deaths
20th-century British novelists
20th-century British women writers
Alumni of Girton College, Cambridge
British mystery writers
British socialists
British suffragists
British women novelists
Chairs of the Fabian Society
Comprehensive education
Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Members of London County Council
Members of the Detection Club
People educated at Roedean School, East Sussex
Margaret
Presidents of the Fabian Society
Women mystery writers
Edwardian era
Women councillors in England