Marie Stopes’ Sexual Revolution and the Birth Control Movement

Description

This book examines the life, work and contraversial achievements of Marie Stopes, author and pioneer of the birth control movement in the interwar period. As the centenary of the ground-breaking publication of Married Love approaches, this study traces and reassesses Marie’s remarkable achievements, considering the literary, scientific and political themes of her life’s work. Clare Debenham analyses how Stope’s personal life led her to turn away from palaeobotany to concentrate on transforming the country’s sexual relationships by writing Married Love. Utilising extensive unpublished archive research, biographies, letters, and interviews with her friends and relatives, Debenham demonstrates that Stopes's work on sexual relationships has overshadowed her considerable achievements including her scientific career as a paleaobotantist, her literary success in the interwar period, and her work, with help from suffragists, in establishing the first British birth control clinic. Front Matter ....Pages i-xvi The Challenge of Marie Stopes (Clare Debenham)....Pages 1-17 Family Values (Clare Debenham)....Pages 19-33 Passionate About Palaeobotany (Clare Debenham)....Pages 35-58 From Married Love to Enduring Passion (Clare Debenham)....Pages 59-74 Birth Control: The Start of Marie Stopes’ Campaign (Clare Debenham)....Pages 75-85 The Growth of the Constructive Birth Control Clinics (Clare Debenham)....Pages 87-99 Marie and Her Correspondents (Clare Debenham)....Pages 101-107 Battles with Doctors, Clergy and Politicians (Clare Debenham)....Pages 109-119 Marie Stopes as a Maverick Eugenicist (Clare Debenham)....Pages 121-131 Epilogue (Clare Debenham)....Pages 133-141 Back Matter ....Pages 143-164