Published by Primary Source Microfilm

The subject of women's education is a crucial one for understanding the changing role of women in society in the last century.

The struggles in the educational sphere run parallel to political and moral problems, and the successes achieved in founding institutions such as Westfield College, the Camden School for Girls and Girton College, Cambridge, greatly expanded the intellectual opportunities open to women.

Emily Davies and Barbara Bodichon were whole-heartedly involved in that work. Their papers are a recognized central source for the study of questions arising from the issue of women and education.

Davies (1830-1921) is best-known as founder of Girton College, Cambridge. Yet, she was also the founder of the London School Mistresses' Association, and active in suffrage work. Her papers and records reflect the wide range of her involvement, including material regarding her efforts to persuade Cambridge University to confer degrees on women, files relating to the Schools Inquiry Commission, 1864-70, and correspondence with her many friends and sympathizers.

There is a substantial body of correspondence between Emily Davies and Barbara Bodichon (1827-91), the major benefactress of Girton College, who was a noted feminist and whose work was vital in the passing of the Married Women's Property Act.

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