Edith Jemima Simcox (21 August 1844 – 15 September 1901) was a British philosopher, writer,

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

activist, and

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

. She published a large number of journal articles in ''

Fraser's Magazine ''Fraser's Magazine for Town and Country'' was a general and literary journal published in London from 1830 to 1882, which initially took a strong Tory line in politics. It was founded by Hugh Fraser and William Maginn in 1830 and loosely direc ...

'', ''

Fortnightly Review ''The Fortnightly Review'' was one of the most prominent and influential magazines in nineteenth-century England. It was founded in 1865 by Anthony Trollope, Frederic Harrison, Edward Spencer Beesly, and six others with an investment of £9,000 ...

'', ''

The Nineteenth Century ''The Nineteenth Century'' was a British monthly literary magazine founded in 1877 by James Knowles. It is regarded by historians as 'one of the most important and distinguished monthlies of serious thought in the last quarter of the nineteent ...

'', ''

Macmillan's Magazine ''Macmillan's Magazine'' was a monthly British magazine published 1859 to 1907 by Alexander Macmillan. The magazine was a literary periodical that published fiction and non-fiction works primarily by British authors. Thomas Hughes convinced Mac ...

'', ''

Contemporary Review ''The Contemporary Review'' is a British biannual, formerly quarterly, magazine. It has an uncertain future as of 2013. History The magazine was established in 1866 by Alexander Strahan and a group of intellectuals intent on promoting their v ...

'', the philosophy journal ''Mind'' (journal) and in particular ''The Academy'' (periodical), for which she wrote around 70 articles. The topics ranged widely but mainly covered literature, philosophy, and social and political issues. She often used the pseudonym "H. Lawrenny". Within philosophy Simcox often reviewed and responded to German philosophy of the time. For example, she wrote on Schopenhauer (''Contemporary Review'', 1872), on

Johann Georg Hamann Johann Georg Hamann (; ; 27 August 1730 – 21 June 1788) was a German Lutheran philosopher from Königsberg known as "the Wizard of the North" who was one of the leading figures of post-Kantian philosophy. His work was used by his student J. G ...

Heinrich Heine Christian Johann Heinrich Heine (; ; born Harry Heine; 13 December 1797 – 17 February 1856) was an outstanding poet, writer, and literary criticism, literary critic of 19th-century German Romanticism. He is best known outside Germany for his ...

(''The Academy'', 1872 and 1869). Amongst other literary works she reviewed ''Middlemarch'' by

George Eliot Mary Ann Evans (22 November 1819 – 22 December 1880; alternatively Mary Anne or Marian), known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, poet, journalist, translator, and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. She wrot ...

(1873) and the ''Memoir of Jane Austen'' (1870). From essays Simcox progressed to write several books. ''Natural Law: An Essay in Ethics'' appeared in 1877. Simcox approached morality as a natural phenomenon, opposing the view that morality must depend on religion. The book gave an account of government, morality, religion, and the ideal form of social, political and economic organisation. It was an ambitious work and was widely reviewed. In ''Mind'' (journal), for example, it was described as a "thoughtful and able work

hich Ij () is a village in Golabar Rural District of the Central District in Ijrud County, Zanjan province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq ...

is in many respects the most important contribution yet made to the Ethics of the Evolution-Theory". Simcox's other major theoretical work was the massive two-volume ''Primitive Civilisations'', published in 1894. It was on the Egyptian, Babylonian, Phoenician, and Chinese civilisations, looking at the relation between their property relations and other aspects of their social organisation. She argued that Europeans had underestimated these societies and that the West had much to learn from them. A reviewer in the ''American Journal of Sociology'' said that she had produced a "book which for interest to the student of social institutions may be compared with

Herbert Spencer Herbert Spencer (27 April 1820 – 8 December 1903) was an English polymath active as a philosopher, psychologist, biologist, sociologist, and anthropologist. Spencer originated the expression "survival of the fittest", which he coined in '' ...

's ''Principles of Sociology''". Simcox was involved in politics and the union movement. In 1875 she and Emma Paterson became the first women to attend the

Trades Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union center, national trade union centre, a federation of trade unions that collectively represent most unionised workers in England and Wales. There are 48 affiliated unions with a total of ...

as delegates. From 1879-1882 she was a member of the

London School Board The School Board for London, commonly known as the London School Board (LSB), was an institution of local government and the first directly elected body covering the whole of London. The Elementary Education Act 1870 ( 33 & 34 Vict. c. 75) was ...

representing Westminster. In 1872, when she was preparing a book review of Middlemarch, Edith Simcox met and fell in love with the female novelist known by her pseudonym, George Eliot. Although this "love-passion" was not reciprocated, Simcox was determined "to love rather than be loved" and continued to be a devoted friend to Eliot. For Simcox's complete journal, see Fulmer and Barfield, eds., ''Autobiography of a Shirtmaker''. Simcox lived at 60

Dean Street Dean Street is a street in Soho, central London, running from Oxford Street south to Shaftesbury Avenue. It crosses Old Compton Street and is linked to Frith Street by Bateman Street. Culture The Soho Theatre presents new plays and stand-u ...

, London.

Selected works

*''Natural Law: An Essay in Ethics'' (1877) *''George Eliot. Her life and works'' (1881) article in the ''Nineteenth Century'' *''Episodes in the Lives of Men, Women and Lovers'' (1882) fiction *''The Capacity of Women'' (1887) article in the ''Nineteenth Century'' *''Primitive Civilizations: or Outlines of the History of Ownership in Archaic Communities'' (1894) *''A Monument to the Memory of George Eliot: Edith J. Simcox's Autobiography of a Shirtmaker'' (1998) autobiography, edited by Constance M. Fulmer and Margaret E. Barfield (New York: Routledge, 1997)

Selected works

References

Further reading