Making socialists: Mary Bridges Adams and the fight for knowledge and power, 1855–1939

Making Socialists Combines A Biographical Study Of A (nowadays) Virtually Unknown Woman With An Original Exploration Of Several Major Themes In Late Nineteenth And Early Twentieth Century Political And Educational History. More Than A Local Politician, Mary Bridges Adams Was Among The Dynamic Late Nineteenth-century Women Activists Who Sought To Transform Government Policy Through Socialist Initiatives, With The Ultimate (utopian) Aim Of Creating A Social Nation. The Author Has Assembled A Thorough Range Of Sources, Including New Materials That Will Bring Fresh Insights To This Biography And More Generally To Labour Party And Socialist Historiography, Well-studied Topics. The People Adams Knew And The Circles In Which She Travelled Are Particularly Attractive Features Of This Book. Foes Thought Her An Awful Woman: Friends Like George Bernard Shaw Remembered The Power Of Her Oratory. Placed Against The Circumstances In Which She Lived And Presented As Part Of A Militant And Anti-capitalist Tradition Within Labour History, Her Life Story Contributes To New Ways Of Seeing Both Socialist And Feminist Politics.