Mary Neal and the Suffragettes Who Saved Morris Dancing

In the early nineteenth century the Esperance Girls’ Club, formed in the slums of London, saved the dying dances of the countryside from extinction. The dancers became nationally renowned, travelling the country to teach. But they were also embedded in Mrs Pankhurst’s militant campaign for Votes for Women. It was their leaders’ aspiration for change in women’s lives that drove both movements, leading many involved to prison.

Author Kathy Atherton will tell the extraordinary story of the dancers and how their involvement in the radical campaign led to women being written out of the history of the Morris dance.

This talk is part of our Window on the World series.