Maud Pember Reeves
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Maud Pember Reeves (24 December 1865 – 13 September 1953) (born Magdalene Stuart Robison) was a feminist, writer and member of the
Fabian Society The Fabian Society () is a History of the socialist movement in the United Kingdom, British socialist organisation whose purpose is to advance the principles of social democracy and democratic socialism via gradualist and reformist effort in ...
. She spent most of her life in
New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
and
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

She was born in
Mudgee Mudgee () is a town in the Central West (New South Wales), Central West of New South Wales, Australia. It is in the broad fertile Cudgegong River valley north-west of Sydney and is the largest town in the Mid-Western Regional Council Local gov ...
,
New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
, Australia, to bank manager William Smoult Robison; the family moved to
Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...
, New Zealand in 1868. In 1885, she married the journalist and politician William Pember Reeves and became interested in
socialism 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 ...
and the
suffragist Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to vo ...
movements, having become involved in the suffrage issue through
Julius Vogel Sir Julius Vogel (24 February 1835 – 12 March 1899) was the eighth premier of New Zealand. His administration is best remembered for the issuing of bonds to fund railway construction and other public works. He was the first Jewish prime min ...
.
Women's suffrage in New Zealand Women's suffrage was an important political issue in the late-nineteenth-century New Zealand. In early colonial New Zealand, as in European societies, women were excluded from any involvement in politics. Public opinion began to change in the ...
was granted in 1893, Maud having joined the Canterbury Women's Institute in 1892, and been an activist on its behalf, collecting signatures for a petition. In 1896, the family moved to
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
after William's appointment as
Agent-General An Agent-General ( or , masculine and feminine respectively) is the representative in cities abroad of the government of a Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province or an States and territories of Australia, Australian state and, h ...
, the representative of New Zealand government within the
British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...
.


London associations

In the late 1890s, Maud Pember Reeves joined the Pioneer Club. The couple became friends with a number of left-wing intellectuals, such as
George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from the 188 ...
,
H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells (21 September 1866 – 13 August 1946) was an English writer, prolific in many genres. He wrote more than fifty novels and dozens of short stories. His non-fiction output included works of social commentary, politics, hist ...
, and Sidney and
Beatrice Webb Martha Beatrice Webb, Baroness Passfield, (née Potter; 22 January 1858 – 30 April 1943) was an English sociology, sociologist, economist, feminism, feminist and reformism (historical), social reformer. She was among the founders of the Lo ...
. Maud joined the Fabian Society which promoted social reform.


Fabian Women's Group

Reeves was one of the founders of the Fabian Women's Group (FWG), with Charlotte Wilson. With Charlotte Shaw and Bessie Hutchins, she had pressed in 1907 on the Fabian Society executive for action on sex equality, supported also by Millicent Murby, but encountered reluctance. She hosted the first meeting of the FWG in the family home. Other members of the FWG included
Beatrice Webb Martha Beatrice Webb, Baroness Passfield, (née Potter; 22 January 1858 – 30 April 1943) was an English sociology, sociologist, economist, feminism, feminist and reformism (historical), social reformer. She was among the founders of the Lo ...
, Alice Clark,
Edith Nesbit Edith Nesbit (married name Edith Bland; 15 August 1858 – 4 May 1924) was an English writer and poet, who published her books for children and others as E. Nesbit. She wrote or collaborated on more than 60 such books. She was also a political ...
, Susan Lawrence,
Margaret Bondfield Margaret Grace Bondfield (17 March 1873 – 16 June 1953) was a British Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician, trade unionist and women's rights activist. She became the first female cabinet minister, and the first woman to be a priv ...
, and Marion Phillips. During the
suffragist Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to vo ...
protests of 1908, 11 members of the FWG were imprisoned. Lady Glasgow (née Dorothea Hunter-Blair), wife of
David Boyle, 7th Earl of Glasgow David Boyle, 7th Earl of Glasgow (31 May 1833 – 13 December 1915), was a British naval commander and colonial governor. He served as Governor of New Zealand between 1892 and 1897. Background Boyle was the son of Patrick Boyle (eldest son of D ...
, spoke for the
Women's National Anti-Suffrage League The Women's National Anti-Suffrage League (1908–18) was established in London on 21 July 1908. Its aims were to oppose women being granted the voting, vote in parliamentary elections, although it did support their having votes in local govern ...
and claimed the
1893 New Zealand general election The 1893 New Zealand general election was held on 28 November and 20 December in the European and Māori electorates, respectively, to elect 74 MPs to the 12th New Zealand Parliament, 12th session of the New Zealand Parliament. The election was ...
was disorderly, from the standpoint of one married to the
Governor-General of New Zealand The governor-general of New Zealand () is the representative of the monarch of New Zealand, currently King Charles III. As the King is concurrently the monarch of 14 other Commonwealth realms and lives in the United Kingdom, he, on the Advice ...
at the time. Maud Pember Reeves and Anna Stout contradicted her directly, stating they were eyewitnesses in a way she was not. A further concern of the FWG was the
economic independence Autarky is the characteristic of self-sufficiency, usually applied to societies, communities, states, and their economic systems. Autarky as an ideology or economic approach has been attempted by a range of political ideologies and movements, ...
of women. Members who wrote on this area included also Mabel Atkinson and Barbara Drake. In 1913 Reeves published as Fabian Tract #162 a survey of poverty in
Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, which today also gives its name to the (much larger) London Borough of Lambeth. Lambeth itself was an ancient parish in the county of Surrey. It is situated 1 mile (1.6 km) south of Charin ...
, a poor borough in
South London South London is the southern part of Greater London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, Lon ...
, called '' Round About a Pound a Week'', a work that was reprinted in 2008 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 ...
.


World War I

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 ...
, Reeves served on a government committee concerned with women's issues. She was director of the Education and Propaganda department of the Ministry of Food; and in 1917–1918, she directed with Constance Peel the women's service of the Ministry concerned with voluntary
rationing Rationing is the controlled distribution (marketing), distribution of scarcity, scarce resources, goods, services, or an artificial restriction of demand. Rationing controls the size of the ration, which is one's allowed portion of the resourc ...
.


Family

William and Maud Reeves had two daughters, the
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 ...
writer Amber Reeves (born 1887) and Beryl (born 1889); and one son, Fabian Pember Reeves (1895–1917). He was killed in 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 ...
, aged 21 while a Flight Lieutenant in the RNAS. Maud gave her (legal) name as Magdalene (or Magdalen) Stuart Reeves on their New Zealand birth certificates.


See also

*
first-wave feminism First-wave feminism was a period of feminist activity and thought that occurred during the 19th and early 20th century throughout the Western world. It focused on De jure, legal issues, primarily on securing women's right to vote. The term is oft ...


References


Further reading

* Fry, Ruth. ''Maud and Amber: a New Zealand Mother and Daughter and the Women’s Cause, 1865–1981''. Christchurch, NZ: Canterbury University Press, 1992. {{DEFAULTSORT:Reeves, Maud Pember 1865 births 1953 deaths New Zealand feminists People from New South Wales Members of the Fabian Society New Zealand feminist writers Maud