About the Author

Mrs. Humphrey Ward (1851 - 1920), born Mary Augusta Arnold, was a British novelist and anti-suffragist. She was born in Tasmania to a prominent family poets and professors. One of her nephews was Aldous Huxley. She believed that society as a whole and women in particular were better off if issues of international relations, finance, law, and the military were left to men. She did believe, however, in a woman's place in local government. In 1908 she was a founder of the Women's National Anti-Suffrage League. She created and published the Anti-Suffrage Review in support of the movement. In addition to her anachronistic views on woman's suffrage, Ward held progressive (for their time) views on morality and religion, which were recurring themes in her novels. She also believed fervently in educating the poor and she established the Mary Ward Centre (formerly Passmore Edwards Settlement) for this purpose.