Name/TitleStreaks of Life
MakerSmyth, Ethel
Maker RoleAuthor
About this objectHardback book with dark blue covers titled 'Streaks of Life' by Ethel Smyth, Mus. Doc. The contents, described as an autobiographical collection of papers, are as follows:
- Concerning This Book
- Recollection of the Empress Eugénie
- A Fresh Start and Two Portraits
- Two Glimpses of Queen Victoria
- 'Mount Music'
- An Adventure in a Train
- The Quotation-Fiend
- A Winter of Storm
- The Opera Fiasco
- An Open Secret
Medium and MaterialsOrganic, board and paper
MeasurementsH: 225 x W: 145 D: 25 mm
Date Made1921
PeriodLate 19th - early 20th century
Place MadeEngland, London
Place NotesLongmans, Green and Co. Ltd, 39 Paternoster Row, London
PublisherLongmans, Green and Co. Ltd
Publication Date1921
Publication PlaceEngland, London
Subject and Association Descriptionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethel_Smyth:
Dame Ethel Mary Smyth DBE (/smaɪθ/; 22 April 1858 – 8 May 1944) was an English composer and a member of the women's suffrage movement. Her compositions include songs, works for piano, chamber music, orchestral works, choral works and operas. Smyth tended to be marginalised as a "woman composer", as though her work could not be accepted as mainstream. Yet when she produced more delicate compositions, they were criticised for not measuring up to the standard of her male peers. She was the first female composer granted a damehood. ... In 1910, Smyth joined the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU), which agitated for women's suffrage, giving up music for two years to devote herself to the cause. Smyth argued in her memoirs that the disadvantages that women face in music stem from the lack of a political vote or voice. She developed a very close relationship with the charismatic leader of the WSPU, Emmeline Pankhurst, and accompanied her on many occasions. Soon after, Smyth composed her most famous, "The March of the Women" (1911) to words by Cicely Hamilton. The text was used to inspire women to unite and free themselves from patriarchal rule. This eventually became the anthem of the WSPU and the suffragette movement [continues].
Subject and Association Keywordswomen's history
Subject and Association Keywords(auto) biography
Subject and Association Keywordsmusic, composition
Subject and Association KeywordsLGBTQ+
Named CollectionGlasgow Women's Library
Object TypeBook
Object numberGWL-2015-91-2
Spine LabelSTREAKS OF LIFE ~ ETHEL SMYTH
Copyright LicenceAll rights reserved