Alice Mona Alison Caird (née Alison; 24 May 1854 – 4 February 1932) was an English novelist and essayist. Her feminist writings and views caused controversy in the late 19th century. She also advocated for

animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding suffering—should be afforded the s ...

and

civil liberties Civil liberties are guarantees and freedoms that governments commit not to abridge, either by constitution, legislation, or judicial interpretation, without due process. Though the scope of the term differs between countries, civil liberties ma ...

, and contributed to advancing the interests of the

New Woman The New Woman was a feminist ideal that emerged in the late 19th century and had a profound influence well into the 20th century. In 1894, Irish writer Sarah Grand (1854–1943) used the term "new woman" in an influential article, to refer to ...

in the public sphere.

Life and writings

Caird was born in

Ryde Ryde is an English seaside town and civil parish on the north-east coast of the Isle of Wight. The built-up area had a population of 23,999 according to the 2011 Census and an estimate of 24,847 in 2019. Its growth as a seaside resort came ...

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Is ...

, the elder daughter of John Alison of

Midlothian Midlothian (; gd, Meadhan Lodainn) is a historic county, registration county, lieutenancy area and one of 32 council areas of Scotland used for local government. Midlothian lies in the east- central Lowlands, bordering the City of Edinbu ...

, Scotland, who some biographies claim to have invented the

vertical boiler A vertical boiler is a type of fire-tube or water-tube boiler where the boiler barrel is oriented vertically instead of the more common horizontal orientation. Vertical boilers were used for a variety of steam-powered vehicles and other mobile ma ...

, and Matilda Hector, who the 1871 census records state was born in

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sc ...

, at the time part of Denmark. Her parents were married on 21 June 1853 in St Leonards (near Glenelg, South Australia), her father being based in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...

and her mother Matilda the eldest daughter of a prominent citizen. Caird wrote stories and plays from early childhood that reveal a proficiency in French and German as well as English. One childhood friend was the art critic Elizabeth Sharp, who married William Sharp. In December 1877, she married James Alexander Henryson, son of Sir James Caird. Her husband farmed some 1700 acres (688 ha) of estates in Cassencary, Scotland. Some eight years older, he supported her independence. While he lived at Cassencary and Northbrook House,

Micheldever Micheldever is a village in Hampshire, England, situated north of Winchester. It lies upon the River Dever . The river, and village, formerly part of Stratton Park, lie on a Hampshire grass downland, underlain with chalk and flint. Parts of th ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...

, she spent much time in London and abroad. She mixed with literary people, including

Thomas Hardy Thomas Hardy (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928) was an English novelist and poet. A Victorian realist in the tradition of George Eliot, he was influenced both in his novels and in his poetry by Romanticism, including the poetry of William Wor ...

, who admired her work, and educated herself in the humanities and science. The Cairds had one child, a son born on 22 March 1884 and named Alison James (see England and Wales birth records), but whom she called Alister. Her husband adopted the surname Henryson-Caird in 1897; he died in 1921. Caird published her first two novels, ''Whom Nature Leadeth'' (1883) and ''One That Wins'' (1887), under the pseudonym "G. Noel Hatton", but little heed was paid to them. Her later writings bore her own name. She became prominent in 1888 when the ''

Westminster Review The ''Westminster Review'' was a quarterly British publication. Established in 1823 as the official organ of the Philosophical Radicals, it was published from 1824 to 1914. James Mill was one of the driving forces behind the liberal journal unt ...

'' printed an article by her, "Marriage", in which she analysed indignities historically suffered by women in marriage, calling its present state a "vexatious failure" and advocating equality and autonomy between marriage partners. London's ''

Daily Telegraph Daily or The Daily may refer to: Journalism * Daily newspaper, newspaper issued on five to seven day of most weeks * ''The Daily'' (podcast), a podcast by ''The New York Times'' * ''The Daily'' (News Corporation), a defunct US-based iPad new ...

'' responded with a series called "Is Marriage a Failure?", which drew a reported 27,000 letters from around the world and continued for three months. Feeling her views had been misunderstood, she published another article, "Ideal Marriage", later that year. Her many essays on marriage and women's issues written in 1888–1894 were collected in ''The Morality of Marriage and Other Essays on the Status and Destiny of Women'' in 1897. Caird next published the novel ''The Wing of Azrael'' (1889), which deals with marital rape: Viola Sedley murders her cruel husband in self-defence. Next came a short story collection, ''A Romance of the Moors'' (1891), where in the title story, a widowed artist, Margaret Ellwood, stirs up a young couple by counselling them to each become independent and self-sufficient. Her best-known novel, ''The Daughters of Danaus'' (1894), tells of Hadria Fullerton, who aspires to be a composer, but finds that her obligations to her family and parents and as a wife and mother, allow little time for it. This has since been seen as a feminist classic. Also well known is her short story "The Yellow Drawing-Room" (1892), where Vanora Haydon defies the conventional separation of spheres of men and women. Such works of hers have been called "fiction of the New Woman". Active in the

women's suffrage movement Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...

from her early twenties, Caird joined the

National Society for Women's Suffrage The National Society for Women's Suffrage Manchester Branch The National Society for Women's Suffrage was the first national group in the United Kingdom to campaign for women's right to vote. Formed on 6 November 1867, by Lydia Becker, the organi ...

in 1878 and later the

Women's Franchise League The Women's Franchise League was a British organisation created by the suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst together with her husband Richard and others in 1889, fourteen years before the creation of the Women's Social and Political Union in 1903. The Pr ...

, the

Women's Emancipation Union The Women's Emancipation Union was founded by Elizabeth Clarke Wolstenholme Elmy in September 1891 following an infamous court case. Regina v Jackson, known colloquially as the Clitheroe Judgement, occurred when Edmund Jackson abducted his wife in a ...

, and the

London Society for Women's Suffrage The Fawcett Society is a membership charity in the United Kingdom which campaigns for women's rights. The organisation dates back to 1866, when Millicent Garrett Fawcett dedicated her life to the peaceful campaign for women's suffrage. Originall ...

. Her essay "Why Women Want the Franchise" was read at the 1892 WEU Conference. In 1908, she published the essay "Militant Tactics and Woman's Suffrage" and took part in the second Hyde Park women's suffrage demonstration. She was also opposed to

vivisection Vivisection () is surgery conducted for experimental purposes on a living organism, typically animals with a central nervous system, to view living internal structure. The word is, more broadly, used as a pejorative catch-all term for experiment ...

, writing much on the subject, including "The Sanctuary of Mercy" (1895), "Beyond the Pale" (1896), "The Ethics of Vivisection" (1900), and a play, "The Logicians: An episode in dialogue" (1902), where characters argue opposing views on the issue. Caird was a member of the

Theosophical Society The Theosophical Society, founded in 1875, is a worldwide body with the aim to advance the ideas of Theosophy in continuation of previous Theosophists, especially the Greek and Alexandrian Neo-Platonic philosophers dating back to 3rd century CE ...

from 1904 to 1909. Among her later writings is an illustrated volume of travel essays, ''Romantic Cities of Provence'' (1906), and novels: ''The Stones of Sacrifice'' (1915), showing harmful effects of self-sacrifice on women, and ''The Great Wave'' (1931), a work of social-science fiction attacking the

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagoni ...

of negative

eugenics Eugenics ( ; ) is a fringe set of beliefs and practices that aim to improve the genetic quality of a human population. Historically, eugenicists have attempted to alter human gene pools by excluding people and groups judged to be inferior o ...

. Mona Caird died on 4 February 1932 in

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the London Borough o ...

at the age of 77.

Bibliography

Caird wrote seven novels, several short stories, various essays and a travel book: *''Whom Nature Leadeth'' (1883) novel *''One That Wins'' (1887) novel *
Marriage
' (1888) essay
Ideal Marriage
(1888) essay *'' The Wing of Azrael'' (1889) novel *"The Emancipation of the Family" (1890) essay *''A Romance of The Moors'' (1891) stories *"The Yellow Drawing-Room" (1892) story
A Defence of the So-Called Wild Women
(1892) essay *
The Daughters of Danaus
' (1894) novel
The Sanctuary of Mercy
(1895) essay *" A Sentimental View of Vivisection" (1895) essay *" Vivisection: An Appeal to the Workers" (1895) essay
Beyond the Pale: An Appeal on Behalf of the Victims of Vivisection
(1897) extended essay *'' The Morality of Marriage and Other Essays on the Status and Destiny of Women'' (1897) essays
''The Pathway of the Gods''
(1898) novel *" The Ethics of Vivisection" (1900) essay *''The Logicians: An episode in dialogue'' (1902) play *
Romantic Cities of Provence
' (1906) travel
Militant Tactics and Woman's Suffrage
(1908) essay *"The Stones of Sacrifice" (1915) essay *''The Great Wave'' (1931) novel

Notes

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Caird, Mona 1854 births 1932 deaths 19th-century English novelists 19th-century English non-fiction writers 19th-century English women writers 20th-century English novelists 20th-century English women writers Anti-vivisectionists British vegetarianism activists British women essayists Deaths from cancer in England English animal rights activists English feminist writers English pacifists English feminists English Theosophists English suffragettes English suffragists English women dramatists and playwrights English women non-fiction writers English women novelists National Society for Women's Suffrage People from Ryde Victorian novelists Victorian women writers

Life and writings

Bibliography

Notes

References

Further reading

External links