Constance Elizabeth Maud (1857–1929) was a writer and

Suffragette A suffragette was a member of an activist women's organisation in the early 20th century who, under the banner "Votes for Women", fought for the right to vote in public elections in the United Kingdom. The term refers in particular to members ...

. She was the elder daughter of the rector of Sanderstead, Surrey, was educated in France and later lived at the family homes in France and in her flat in Chelsea. She published books from 1895, was a member of the

Women Writers' Suffrage League The Women Writers' Suffrage League (WWSL) was an organisation in the United Kingdom formed in 1908 by Cicely Hamilton and Bessie Hatton. The organisation stated that it wanted "to obtain the Parliamentary Franchise for women on the same terms as ...

and contributed to many suffrage publications including the suffragist newspaper Votes For Women. She became a member of The

Women's Social and Political Union The Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) was a women-only political movement and leading militant organisation campaigning for women's suffrage in the United Kingdom from 1903 to 1918. Known from 1906 as the suffragettes, its membership an ...

(WSPU) in 1908 (source: ''The Women's Suffrage Movement: A Reference Guide 1866–1928'', Elizabeth Crawford). She is best known as the author of ''No Surrender'' in 1911, a novel about the struggle for votes for women. ''No Surrender'' is considered to be an important addition to literature about the campaign for votes for women: "Maud's fast-paced tale of prewar suffrage activism enrich sa literary field long impoverished by a lack of pro-suffrage fiction". The book was used as a tool by suffragettes in championing their cause and has since become an important social document of its time. ''No Surrender'' was reviewed by suffragette

Emily Davison Emily Wilding Davison (11 October 1872 – 8 June 1913) was an English suffragette who fought for votes for women in Britain in the early twentieth century. A member of the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) and a militant fighte ...

in 1911. She said "It is a book which breathes the very spirit of our Women’s Movement."

Charlotte Despard Charlotte Despard (née French; 15 June 1844 – 10 November 1939) was an Anglo-Irish suffragist, socialist, pacifist, Sinn Féin activist, and novelist. She was a founding member of the Women's Freedom League, Women's Peace Crusade, and the I ...

, the president of the

Women's Freedom League The Women's Freedom League was an organisation in the United Kingdom which campaigned for women's suffrage and sexual equality. It was an offshoot of the militant suffragettes after the Pankhursts decide to rule without democratic support fro ...

and the editor of The Vote called it "The best Suffrage novel I have ever read." ''No Surrender'' was re-published by

Persephone Books ''Persephone Books'' is an independent publisher based in Bath, England. Founded in 1999 by Nicola Beauman, Persephone Books reprints works largely by women writers of the late 19th and 20th century, though a few books by men are included. Th ...

in 2011, to mark the 100th anniversary of its original publication. Constance Maud's father, the Rev Henry Landon Maud, MA, was rector at All Saints’ Church,

Sanderstead Sanderstead is a village and medieval-founded church parish at the southern end of Croydon in south London, England, within the London Borough of Croydon, and formerly in the historic county of Surrey, until 1965. It takes in Purley Downs and ...

, 1892–1901. Rev. Maud was elected a scholar of

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

, at the Westminster School elections, 1846 (source: Ecclesiastical Gazette).

Published Books

* An English Girl in Paris (1902) * My French Friends * Felicity in France (1906) * Angélique (1912) * My French Year (1917) * A Daughter of France (1908) * No Surrender (1911) * Sparks Among the Stubble (1924)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maud, Constance 1857 births 1929 deaths British writers British suffragists British expatriates in France