Stopes (Charlotte) Papers

Papers of Charlotte Stopes. The collection mainly relates to Stopes' work on Shakespeare, though there is a little general correspondence, and some notes on women's suffrage and other women's questions.

Charlotte Stopes was born in Edinburgh, the daughter of Jas.F.Carmichael, a landscape painter. She was educated in Edinburgh and went to women's university classes (before Scottish universities opened to women in 1892). She took the highest certificates then possible, and a diploma in eight subjects including literature, philosophy and science, achieving a first class honours. She married in 1879 Henry Stopes, architect, civil engineer and anthropologist, and had two daughters, one of whom was Marie Stopes. After marriage, Charlotte travelled over Europe and up the Nile to the Cataracts. She then settled in Upper Norwood and founded a discussion society for ladies and a Shakespeare reading society, the Shakespeare Association. She also lectured in subjects relating to women and to Shakespeare. She received an Award of the British Academy for her 'Shakespeare's Industry' in 1916. In her early days she wrote some stories for Chambers's Juvenile Series, and later wrote many books and articles mostly related to Shakespeare.

Open

The papers are available subject to the usual conditions of access to Archives and Manuscripts material, after the completion of a Reader's Undertaking.

A small part of the collection was found in the University College London Library basement, and the remainder was transferred from the Librarian's office in 1970.

A boxlist is available on the online catalogue.

Normal copyright restrictions apply.