Dorothy Frances Montefiore (; 20 December 1851 – 21 December 1933), known as Dora Montefiore, was an English-Australian women's suffragist,

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

, poet, and autobiographer active in

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

Early life

Born Dorothy Frances Fuller at

Kenley Kenley is a suburb within the London Borough of Croydon. It is located south of Charing Cross and within the southern boundary of London, England. Surrounded by the Metropolitan Green Belt on three sides, it includes the large open spaces of K ...

Manor near

Coulsdon Coulsdon (, traditionally pronounced ) is a town in south London, England, within the London Borough of Croydon. Coulsdon was an ancient parish in the county of Surrey that included the settlements of Purley and Kenley. It was merged with Sand ...

, Surrey, daughter of Francis Fuller and Mary Ann Fuller (née Drew). Montefiore's father was involved with railway engineering and was a driving force behind

the Great Exhibition The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, also known as the Great Exhibition or the Crystal Palace Exhibition (in reference to the temporary structure in which it was held), was an international exhibition that took ...

. Her mother was a daughter of George Drew, a property speculator who developed

Caterham Caterham () is a town in the Tandridge (district), Tandridge district of Surrey, England. The town is administratively divided into two: Caterham on the Hill, and Caterham Valley, which includes the main town centre in the middle of a dry valle ...

. Dora was educated by governesses and tutors and at Mrs Creswell's school at

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

. In 1874, Dora went to Sydney to assist her brother's wife. Dora returned briefly to England, and on her return to Sydney married Jewish merchant George Barrow Montefiore, son of

Joseph Barrow Montefiore Joseph Barrow Montefiore (24 June 1803 – 8 September 1893), merchant and financier, was the youngest son of Eliezer Montefiore, merchant, of Barbados and London, and his wife, Judith (née Barrow). Montefiore was born on 24 June 1803 in Londo ...

. They had two children. In 1889, her husband was lost at sea. When Montefiore learned that she had no automatic right to guardianship of her children, she became an advocate of women's rights.Allen, J
Dorothy Frances (Dora) (1851–1933)
Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 10, Melbourne University Press, 1986, pp 556–557. The first meeting of the Womanhood Suffrage League of New South Wales was held at Montefiore's home on 29 March 1891. In 1892 Montefiore left Australia and after spending several years in Paris, settled in England.

Suffragette

An influence on her socialist views was from time with Julia Dawson, on the Clarion Van in the West Midlands and she continued to see the need for women to be given the right to vote, as a class issue. In 1898, Montefiore produced a book of verse ''Singings Through the Dark''. She also continued to be active in the suffrage movement, serving on the executive of

Millicent Fawcett Dame Millicent Garrett Fawcett (; 11 June 1847 – 5 August 1929) was an English political activist and writer. She campaigned for Women's suffrage in the United Kingdom, women's suffrage by Law reform, legal change and in 1897–1919 led Brita ...

National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies The National Union of Women Suffrage Societies (NUWSS), also known as the ''suffragists'' (not to be confused with the suffragettes) was an organisation founded in 1897 of women's suffrage societies around the United Kingdom. In March 1919 it w ...

and she joined 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 founded in 1903. Known from 1906 as the suffragettes, its membership and p ...

that had been formed by Emmeline and

Christabel Pankhurst Dame Christabel Harriette Pankhurst (; 22 September 1880 – 13 February 1958) was a British suffragette born in Manchester, England. A co-founder of the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU), she directed Suffragette bombing and arson ca ...

. In 1897, Montefiore proposed the formation of the Women's Tax Resistance League. In 1906, to protest lack of political representation, Montefiore refused to pay her taxes and remained barricaded in her home for six weeks. The League used this occasion as an opportunity for demonstrations and publicity: Her house had a banner displayed across the wall saying: “Women should vote for the laws they obey and the taxes they pay.” And she said "I was doing this because the mass of non-qualified women could not demonstrate in the same way, and I was to that extent their spokeswoman. It was the crude fact of women’s political disability that had to be forced on an ignorant and indifferent public." In October of the same year,

Adela Pankhurst Adela Constantia Mary Walsh ( Pankhurst; 19 June 1885 – 23 May 1961) was a British-born suffragette who worked as a political organiser for the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) in Scotland. In 1914 she moved to Australia where she co ...

, Montefiore and others were arrested for demanding votes for women in the lobby of the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

. Montefiore later described the experience and the interior of Holloway Prison. Montefiore also joined several socialist organisations around this time, including the

Women's Freedom League The Women's Freedom League was an organisation in the United Kingdom from 1907 to 1961 which campaigned for women's suffrage, pacifism and sexual equality. It was founded by former members of the Women's Social and Political Union after the Pa ...

, the

Social Democratic Federation The Social Democratic Federation (SDF) was established as Britain's first organised socialist political party by H. M. Hyndman, and had its first meeting on 7 June 1881. Those joining the SDF included William Morris, George Lansbury, James ...

and the

British Socialist Party The British Socialist Party (BSP) was a Marxist political organisation established in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Great Britain in 1911. Following a protracted period of political faction, factional struggle, in 1916 the party's ...

. Montefiore was a linguist and responsible for the first English translation of the work of

Maxim Gorky Alexei Maximovich Peshkov (; – 18 June 1936), popularly known as Maxim Gorky (; ), was a Russian and Soviet writer and proponent of socialism. He was nominated five times for the Nobel Prize in Literature. Before his success as an aut ...

. Montefiore was friends with suffragette

Adelaide Knight Adelaide Knight, also known as Eliza Adelaide Knight, (1871–1950), was a British suffragette and communist. She was a founding member of the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB). Biography Born in Tower Hamlets, East End of London'','' ...

Adelaide Knight, leader of the first east London suffragettes — East End Women's Museum
/ref> and Minnie Baldock. Montefiore was one of the speaker's at Baldock's Canning Town WSPU group and wrote to support Baldock's 'noble stand' in visiting the Liberal leader in December 1906. Montefiore left the WSPU and joined the Adult Suffrage Society, for which she became honorary secretary in 1909, to support the case for full suffrage not based on financial status but for all men and women over the age of majority (21), rather than the limited option, some argued as a first step of women with property being enfranchised. Montefiore's socialist views were shared by

Sylvia Pankhurst Estelle Sylvia Pankhurst (; 5 May 1882 – 27 September 1960) was an English Feminism, feminist and Socialism, socialist activist and writer. Following encounters with women-led labour activism in the United States, she worked to organise worki ...

whom she kept in contact with after the split with WSPU.

Later life

Montefiore lectured in Holland, attended the Socialist International Conference and went on a lecture tour of Europe and in the US, then returned to Australia in 1910 to visit her son Gilbert. While in Australia, Montefiore edited '' International Socialist Review of Australasia'' when its owner Henry Holland fell ill in 1911. Montefiore also met Premier William Arthur Holman. In 1912 Montefiore went to South Africa and wrote about the effect of capitalism. In October 1913, Montefiore was involved in a “holiday plan” to take the children of unionised workers locked out by employers in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

into the respite care of sympathetic families in England.

Archbishop of Dublin The Archbishop of Dublin () is an Episcopal polity, archiepiscopal title which takes its name from Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Since the Reformation in Ireland, Reformation, there have been parallel apostolic successions to the title: ...

William Joseph Walsh William Joseph Walsh (30 January 1841 – 9 April 1921) served as the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Dublin from 3 July 1885 until his death in 1921. Early life and priestly ministry He was born at 11 Essex Quay in Dublin, the only child of Ralph ...

, wrote a public letter condemning the plan as dangerous to the children's Catholic faith. Those involved were arrested and charged with

kidnapping Kidnapping or abduction is the unlawful abduction and confinement of a person against their will, and is a crime in many jurisdictions. Kidnapping may be accomplished by use of force or fear, or a victim may be enticed into confinement by frau ...

. The charges were later dropped. During the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Montefiore volunteered in France but also joined the

, and contributed articles to '' The Call''. In 1920, she was elected to the provisional council of its successor, the

Communist Party of Great Britain The Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) was the largest communist organisation in Britain and was founded in 1920 through a merger of several smaller Marxist groups. Many miners joined the CPGB in the 1926 general strike. In 1930, the CPGB ...

. When Montefiore's son died in 1921 from the effects of mustard gas poisoning acquired during his service in the War, the Australian government would not allow her to visit Australia until Holman spoke on her behalf and assured them that she promised not to engage in communist propaganda. Montefiore was allowed to visit, and also used the time to make connections in the Australian communist movement, meeting Christian Jollie Smith. Montefiore represented the

Communist Party of Australia The Communist Party of Australia (CPA), known as the Australian Communist Party (ACP) from 1944 to 1951, was an Australian communist party founded in 1920. The party existed until roughly 1991, with its membership and influence having been ...

in Moscow in 1924. Montefiore wrote her autobiography in 1927; it was called ''From a Victorian to a Modern''. Montefiore died at home in

Hastings Hastings ( ) is a seaside town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to th ...

in 1933, and her cremation was at

Golders Green Golders Green is a suburb in the London Borough of Barnet in north London, northwest of Charing Cross. It began as a medieval small suburban linear settlement near a farm and public grazing area green, and dates to the early 19th century. It ...

, Middlesex.

Posthumous recognition

Her name and picture (and those of 58 other women's suffrage supporters) are on the

plinth A pedestal or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles. In civil engineering, it is also called ''basement''. The minimum height o ...

of the statue of Millicent Fawcett in

Parliament Square Parliament Square is a square at the northwest end of the Palace of Westminster in the City of Westminster in central London, England. Laid out in the 19th century, it features a large open green area in the centre with trees to its west, and ...

, London, unveiled in 2018.

References

External links

Dora Montefiore Archive at marxists.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Montefiore, Dora 1851 births 1933 deaths Australian communists Australian feminist writers Australian Marxists Australian women writers British Socialist Party members English socialist feminists Communist Party of Great Britain members English tax resisters People from Kenley Social Democratic Federation members Women of the Victorian era People from Coulsdon Communist women writers Women's Social and Political Union Australian socialist feminists Australian suffragists Australian women's rights activists Australian women activists 20th-century Australian women