Nesta Helen Webster (née Bevan, 24 August 1876 – 16 May 1960) was an English

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

who promoted

antisemitic canards Antisemitic tropes, canards, or myths are " sensational reports, misrepresentations, or fabrications" that are defamatory towards Judaism as a religion or defamatory towards Jews as an ethnic or religious group. Since the Middle Ages, su ...

and revived theories about the

Illuminati The Illuminati (; plural of Latin ''illuminatus'', 'enlightened') is a name given to several groups, both real and fictitious. Historically, the name usually refers to the Bavarian Illuminati, an Enlightenment-era secret society founded on 1 ...

.Who are the Illuminati? ''Independent on Sunday'' (London) 6 November 2005. She claimed that the secret society's members were occultists, plotting communist

world domination World domination (also called global domination or world conquest or cosmocracy) is a hypothetical power structure, either achieved or aspired to, in which a single political authority holds the power over all or virtually all the inhabitants ...

, through a Jewish cabal, the Masons and Jesuits. She blamed the group for events including the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...

1848 Revolution The Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Springtime of the Peoples or the Springtime of Nations, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe starting in 1848. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in Europea ...

, the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...

, and the

Bolshevik Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key mome ...

. Her writing influenced later conspiracy theories and ideologies, including American

anti-communism Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in the Russian Empire, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when the United States and ...

(particularly the

John Birch Society The John Birch Society (JBS) is an American right-wing political advocacy group. Founded in 1958, it is anti-communist, supports social conservatism, and is associated with ultraconservative, radical right, far-right, or libertarian ideas. ...

) and the militia movement. In 1920, Webster became a contributor to ''

The Jewish Peril ''The Protocols of the Elders of Zion'' () or ''The Protocols of the Meetings of the Learned Elders of Zion'' is a fabricated antisemitic text purporting to describe a Jewish plan for global domination. The hoax was plagiarized from several ...

'', a series of articles in the London '' Morning Post'' centered on the forged document ''

The Protocols of the Elders of Zion ''The Protocols of the Elders of Zion'' () or ''The Protocols of the Meetings of the Learned Elders of Zion'' is a fabricated antisemitic text purporting to describe a Jewish plan for global domination. The hoax was plagiarized from several ...

''. These articles were compiled and published in the same year in book form under the title of '' The Cause of World Unrest''. Webster claimed that the authenticity of the ''Protocols of the Elders of Zion'' was an "open question". Prior to

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, Webster was involved in

Fascist Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy and the ...

political groups in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Early years

Born in 1876, in the North London stately home

Trent Park Trent Park is an English country house, together with its former extensive grounds, in north London. The original great house and a number of statues and other structures located within the grounds (such as the Orangery) are Grade II listed bu ...

, Webster was the youngest daughter of Robert Cooper Lee Bevan and Emma Frances Shuttleworth. She was educated at Westfield College, now part of

Queen Mary, University of London , mottoeng = With united powers , established = 1785 – The London Hospital Medical College1843 – St Bartholomew's Hospital Medical College1882 – Westfield College1887 – East London College/Queen Mary College , type = Public researc ...

. When she became an adult, she travelled around the world, visiting

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

, Singapore, and Japan. In 1904, she married Arthur Templer Webster, Superintendent of the British Police in India.

Writing

Reading the letters of the Countess of Sabran, Webster believed herself to be a reincarnation of someone from the time of the

. Her first book on the subject of the French Revolution was ''The

Chevalier de Boufflers Stanislas Jean, chevalier de Boufflers (31 May 1738, Nancy – 18 January 1815) was a French statesman and writer. Biography He was born near Nancy, Meurthe-et-Moselle, the son of Louis François, marquis de Boufflers. His mother, Marie Cather ...

'', followed by ''The French Revolution: A study in democracy'', in which she credited a conspiracy based around

Freemasonry Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

as responsible for the

. She wrote that "the lodges of the German Freemasons and Illuminati were thus the source whence emanated all those anarchic schemes which culminated in the Terror, and it was at a great meeting of the Freemasons in Frankfurt-am-Main, three years before the French Revolution began, that the deaths of

Louis XVI Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was e ...

and Gustavus III of Sweden were first planned." Webster differentiated between "

Continental Freemasonry Continental Freemasonry, otherwise known as Liberal Freemasonry, Latin Freemasonry, and Adogmatic Freemasonry, includes the Masonic lodges, primarily on the European continent, that recognize the Grand Orient de France (GOdF) or belong to CLIP ...

" and " British Freemasonry"; while the former was a subversive force in her mind, she considered the latter "an honourable association" and a "supporter of law, order and religion". Masons of the

United Grand Lodge of England The United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) is the governing Masonic lodge for the majority of freemasons in England, Wales and the Commonwealth of Nations. Claiming descent from the Masonic grand lodge formed 24 June 1717 at the Goose & Gridiron ...

supported her writings.

Political views

The publication of the

antisemitic Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Ant ...

forgery ''

'' led Webster to believe that Jews were the driving force behind an international conspiracy, which in ''World Revolution: the Plot Against Civilization'' she developed into a "Judeo-Masonic" conspiracy behind international finance and responsible for the

Bolshevik revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key mome ...

. Following this, she became the leading writer of ''The Patriot'', an antisemitic paper financed by

Alan Percy Alan Percy (c.1480-1560) was an English churchman and academic, Master of St John's College, Cambridge, and later Master of Trinity College, Arundel which he surrendered to Henry VIII in 1545. Life He was third son of Henry Percy, 4th Earl o ...

. Winston Churchill praised her in a 1920 article entitled "Zionism versus Bolshevism: A Struggle for the Soul of the Jewish People,"Quoted in Anthony Julius, ''

Trials of The Diaspora, A History of Anti-Semitism in England In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribunal ...

'' (Oxford University Press, 2010), p. 719, footnote 387. in which he wrote "This movement among the Jews is not new. From the days of Spartacus-Weishaupt to those of

Karl Marx Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...

, and down to

Trotsky Lev Davidovich Bronstein. ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky; uk, link= no, Лев Давидович Троцький; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trotskij'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky''. (), was a Russian M ...

(Russia), Bela Kun (Hungary),

Rosa Luxembourg Rosa Luxemburg (; ; pl, Róża Luksemburg or ; 5 March 1871 – 15 January 1919) was a Polish and naturalised-German revolutionary socialist, Marxist philosopher and anti-war activist. Successively, she was a member of the Proletariat party, ...

(Germany), and

Emma Goldman Emma Goldman (June 27, 1869 – May 14, 1940) was a Russian-born anarchist political activist and writer. She played a pivotal role in the development of anarchist political philosophy in North America and Europe in the first half of th ...

(United States), this world-wide conspiracy for the overthrow of civilisation and for the reconstitution of society on the basis of arrested development, of envious malevolence, and impossible equality, has been steadily growing. It played, as a modern writer, Mrs. Webster, has so ably shown, a definitely recognisable part in the tragedy of the

." Webster became involved in several far-right groups including the British Fascists,Thomas Linehan, ''British Fascism 1918-39: Parties, Ideology and Culture'', Manchester University Press, 2000, p. 46 the Anti-Socialist Union, The Link, and the

British Union of Fascists The British Union of Fascists (BUF) was a British fascist political party formed in 1932 by Oswald Mosley. Mosley changed its name to the British Union of Fascists and National Socialists in 1936 and, in 1937, to the British Union. In 1939, ...

., page 176 In her books, Webster argued that

Bolshevism Bolshevism (from Bolshevik) is a revolutionary socialist current of Soviet Marxist–Leninist political thought and political regime associated with the formation of a rigidly centralized, cohesive and disciplined party of social revolution, ...

was part of a much older and more secret, self-perpetuating conspiracy. She described three possible sources for this conspiracy:

Zionism Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after ''Zion'') is a Nationalism, nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is ...

Pan-Germanism Pan-Germanism (german: Pangermanismus or '), also occasionally known as Pan-Germanicism, is a pan-nationalist political idea. Pan-Germanists originally sought to unify all the German-speaking people – and possibly also Germanic-speaking ...

or "the

occult The occult, in the broadest sense, is a category of esoteric supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving otherworldly agency, such as magic and mysticism ...

power". She claimed that even if the ''Protocols of the Elders of Zion'' were fake, they still described how Jews behave. Webster dismissed much of the persecution of the Jews by Nazi Germany as exaggeration and propaganda, having abandoned her anti-German views due to her initial admiration of Adolf Hitler. She came to oppose Hitler after the

Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact was a non-aggression pact between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union that enabled those powers to partition Poland between them. The pact was signed in Moscow on 23 August 1939 by German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ri ...

. Webster favoured "traditional roles for women and believed women should primarily influence men to be better men", but was frustrated by limits on the careers open to women, because she believed jobs should not just be for the money but should be purposeful professions. She saw marriage as limiting her choices, although her wedding financially allowed her to be a writer. She believed in raising women's education, and that the education they had been receiving was inferior to men's, making women less capable than they could be. She believed that, with better education, women would have substantial political capabilities to a degree considered "non-traditional", but without that education they'd be only as men imagined all women to be, the suppliers of men's and children's "material needs". " e implied ...

hat A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mech ...

women and men might well be true equals." She believed there had been "women's supremacy ... npre-revolutionary France, when powerful women never attempted to compete directly with men, but instead drew strength from other areas where they excelled. She favoured women being allowed to vote and favoured keeping the British Parliamentary system for the benefit of both women and men, although doubted that voting would provide everything women needed, and thus did not join the

suffrage movement Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...

. In the 1920s, "her views on women had become more conservative", and she made them secondary to her conspiracy writing.

Criticism

In February 1924,

Hilaire Belloc Joseph Hilaire Pierre René Belloc (, ; 27 July 187016 July 1953) was a Franco-English writer and historian of the early twentieth century. Belloc was also an orator, poet, sailor, satirist, writer of letters, soldier, and political activist. ...

wrote to an American Jewish friend regarding one of Webster's publications which purported to expose evidence of Jewish conspiracy. Though Belloc's record of writing about Jews has itself attracted accusations of antisemitism, his contempt for Webster's own efforts was evident:

Umberto Eco Umberto Eco (5 January 1932 – 19 February 2016) was an Italian medievalist, philosopher, semiotician, novelist, cultural critic, and political and social commentator. In English, he is best known for his popular 1980 novel '' The Name of th ...

, whose novel '' The Prague Cemetery'' recounts the development of the ''Protocols'', has characterised Webster's propagation of the document as evidence of a delusional tendency:

Works

''The Chevalier De Boufflers. A Romance of the French Revolution''
E.P. Dutton and Company, 1927. st Pub. London, John Murray, 1910. Reprints: 1916; 1920; 1924; 1925; E.P. Dutton & Co., New York, 1926
''Britain's Call to Arms: An Appeal to Our Women''.
London, Hugh Rees, 1914. * ''The Sheep Track. An Aspect of London Society''. London: John Murray (1914). * ''The French Revolution: A Study in Democracy''. London: Constable & Co. (1919). * ''The French Terror and Russian Bolshevism''. London: Boswell Printing & Publishing Co. (1920) .
''World Revolution. The Plot Against Civilization''
Small, Maynard & Company, 1921 st Pub. London, Constable & Co., 1921. Reprints: Constable, 1922; Chawleigh, The Britons Publishing Co., 1971; Sudbury, Bloomfield Books, 1990?]. ** ''The Revolution of 1848,'' Kessinger Publishing, 2010. * ''The Past History of the World Revolution. A Lecture'', Woolwich, Royal Artillery Institution, 1921. * with Kurt Kerlen, ''Boche and Bolshevik'', being a series of articles from the ''Morning Post of London'', reprinted for distribution in the United States, New York, Beckwith, 1923. Reprint: Sudbury, Bloomfield Books 990? .
''Secret Societies and Subversive Movements''
London, Boswell Printing & Publishing Co. London, 1924. Reprints: Boswell, 1928 and 1936; London, The Britons Publishing Co., London, 1955 and 1964; Palmdale
Christian Book Club of America
and Sudbury and Sudbury, Bloomfield Books, 198 Kessinger Publishing, 2003. .Heckethorn, Charles William
''The Secret Societies of all Ages and Countries''Vol. 2
London: George Redway (1897). * ''The Socialist Network''. London: Boswell Printing & Publishing Co. (1926). ** Reprinted: Boswell (1933); Sudbury, Bloomfield (1989?); Noontide Press (2000). . * ''The Need for Fascism in Britain''. London: British Fascists, Pamphlet no. 17 (1926). * ''The Surrender of an Empire''. London: Boswell Printing & Publishing Co. (1931). ** Reprinted: Angriff Press (1972); Gordon Press Publishers (1973); Sudbury, Bloomfield Books (1990?). * ''The Origin and Progress of the World Revolution''. London: Boswell Printing & Publishing Co. (1932). * (with the pseudonym of Julian Sterne). ''The Secret of the Zodiac'', London: Boswell Printing & Publishing Co. (1933).
''Germany and England''.
London: Boswell Publishing Co. (1938). Revised and reprinted from ''The Patriot''.
''Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette Before the Revolution''.
London: Constable & Co. (1936). * ''Spacious Days: An Autobiography''. London: Hutchinson (1949). ** ''Crowded Hours: Part Two of her Autobiography''. The manuscript "disappeared from her publisher's office." It remains unpublished. * ''Marie-Antoinette Intime'' (in

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

). Paris: La Table ronde (1981). .

Selected articles

“Conservatism – A Living Creed,”
''The Patriot'', Vol. I, No. 1, 9 February 1922.
"Danton,"
The Patriot, Vol. II, No. 16, 22 May 1922.
"Saint Just,"
''The Patriot'', Vol. II, No. 18, 8 June 1922.
"A Few Terrorists,"
''The Patriot'', Vol. II, No. 19, 15 June 1922.
"The Marquis De Sade,"
''The Patriot'', Vol. II, No. 20, 22 June 1922.
“'Beppo' and Bakunin,"
''The Patriot'', Vol. II, No. 22, 6 July 1922.

Bibliography

* Gilman, Richard M., ''Behind "World Revolution": The Strange Career of Nesta H. Webster'', Ann Arbor, Insights Books, 1982. * Lee, Martha F., ''Nesta Webster: The Voice of Conspiracy'', in ''Journal of Women's History'', Vol. 17, No. 3, p. 81 ''ff.'' Fall, 2005. Biography.

References

External links

* *
The London Times Obituary
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Webster, Nesta Helen 1876 births 1960 deaths Alumni of Westfield College Bevan family English conspiracy theorists Anti-Masonry English non-fiction writers Protocols of the Elders of Zion English fascists British Union of Fascists politicians English feminists British women's rights activists English suffragists Place of death missing English people of Welsh descent Antisemitism in England Illuminati conspiracy theorists