Papers of Mildred Anna Rosalie Tuker

The archive consists of literary and general correspondence including press cuttings (1888-1938); correspondence on 'Ecce Mater' (1914-1918); letters and press cuttings on article 'Women Preachers'; papers related to 'Cambridge'; letters and papers found in copy of 'Past and Future of Ethics' (1923-1951); manuscript article 'Clothes and the Women' (undated.); genealogy of family of Tuker (undated.); printed pamphlets and articles by Tucker (1887-1921). Her correspondence includes letters from prominent women including suffragette leaders and includes a letter from Dr Joan Malleson.

Mildred Anna Rosalie Tuker (1862-1957) was born in Apr 1862, the daughter of Rosalie du Chemin and Stephen Tuker. She was educated privately before studying moral sciences at Newnham College, Cambridge, from 1880 to 1883. Her work appears to first have been published in 1887 and she would continue to work as a writer until the period just before the outbreak of the Second World War. She spent the period in 1893-1910 mainly in Rome, which became her second home. Her most important works were 'The School of York' in 1887, 'The Liturgy in Rome' in 1897, 'Handbook to Christian and Ecclesiastical Rome in 1897-1900, 'Cambridge' in 1907, 'Ecce Mater' in 1915, 'The Liturgy in Rome' in 1925 and 'Past and Future of Ethics' in 1938. In the early part of the twentieth century she became involved with the women's suffrage movement as well as the role of women in the Roman Catholic Church. Her articles on Catholicism were published in a wide range of periodicals such as 'Hibbert's Journal' and the 'Fortnightly Review'. By 1911 she had become a member of both the Catholic Women's Suffrage Society and the Women's Social & Political Union. She published a number of articles in the pages of 'Votes for Women', signing herself MART, as well as being asked by Christabel Pankhurst to lobby MPs on a number of occasions. She took part in the series of major marches that took place in London in 1908 and 1910 and was in the Joint procession that took place in 1911. In addition to her suffrage and theological activities, she was a member of the Pontifical Academy of Arcadia, Rome and a Lady of Justice of the Order of St John of Jerusalem as well as being on the expert adviser's panel of the Society for the Overseas Settlement of British Women in 1927. Her writing focused on the historical position of women, particularly in the Christian religion, and the theological and ethical rationale for this. She died in Mar 1954.

Tuker arranged her papers in folders 1949, this arrangement has been retained.

This collection is available for research. Readers are advised to contact The Women's Library in advance of their first visit.

The archive was given to the Library by the executors of Miss Tuker's will in 1954, as noted in the Fawcett Society's Annual Report ['large consignment of material on the position of women was received from the executors of Miss MAR Tuker'.]

Fawcett Library Catalogue

The Women's Library also holds the Records of the Society for the Overseas Settlement of British Women (1SOS); Records of the Catholic Women's Suffrage Society (2SJA/A) and of Alice Abadam (7ALA). Autograph Letters 9/06/168 and 9/02/209 relate to Tuker. The Women's Library Printed Collections also holdsworks by Tuker, some of which were her personal copies; and the Biographical Press Cuttings include items relating to Tuker.