Patricia Fara - A Lab of One’s Own: Science and Suffrage in the First World War

an urgent and absorbing tale. Faras impassioned yet rigorous work never falters or compromises in its search for a history that is both true and continues to matter a very great deal.

Charlotte Sleigh, Professor of Science Humanities,University of Kent

Fascinating [Patricia Fara] has uncovered the hidden, suppressed histories of scientists and clinicians who made great contributions to war and welfare, and she has woven a broader narrative of gain and loss that still resonates today.

Jeremy Sanders, Former Pro-Vice-Chancellorand Professor of Chemistry, University of Cambridge

The stories in this book made me very happy that I came of age in the middle of the 20th century, when the world of science welcomed a womans questions and valued her experiments.

Maxine F. Singer, President Emeritus,Carnegie Institution for Science

A book full of fascinating insight and anecdote about women working in or with science around the time of the 1st World War. So many hidden stories and amazing heroines.

Athene Donald, Professor of Experimental Physicsat University of Cambridge and Master of Churchill College

Vividly and movingly, A Lab Of Ones Own, brings to life the forgotten story of the scientific, mathematical, medical and technological contributions made by British women during the First World War, with legacies and lessons that still matter today. Patricia Fara deserves a medal.

Gregory Radick, Professor of Historyand Philosophy of Science, University of Leeds

I slid into this topic almost accidentally, and I owe an enormous amount to the expert scholars whose work has guided me. In particular, I am very grateful to David Edgerton for encouraging me to move beyond standard views of British wartime science and for commenting on a draft chapter, and to Marsha Richmond, not only for her inspiring articles but also for giving me permission to appropriate one of her titles: A Lab of Ones Own. In addition, I have greatly benefited from the helpful advice provided by anonymous reviewers.

To my surprise and delight, while I was writing this book, I was contacted by Viscount Davidson, whose grandfather played a crucial role in developing British wartime X-ray equipment. He has been exceptionally generous in sending me copies of family letters and photographs, and also for alerting me to the remarkable book-length memoir by Helena Gleichen, which I have never seen referred to elsewhere.

In May 2014, I presented a nascent version of this book at an international conference held at the Royal Society and organized by the Women in Science Research Network (WISRnet). I have greatly valued the support and enthusiasm of WISRnets members, especially Claire Jones and Sue Hawkins, who subsequently edited a special issue of Notes and Records of the Royal Society (March 2015). Two other women were unwittingly important influences while I was writing this book: Karolyn Shindler, exemplary biographer of Dorothea Bate, and Elizabeth Crawford, whose marvellous posts on suffrage campaigners kept arriving in my inbox.

My agent Tracy Bohan, and my OUP editors Matthew Cotton and Luciana OFlaherty, all showed extraordinary patience while I was completing the manuscript, and this book would certainly never have been published without their help. I am also very grateful to my meticulous copy editor, Henry MacKeith: I take full responsibility for any surviving mistakes.

I can only apologize to the many other friends and colleagues who have been extremely cooperative but will remain unmentioned in the interests both of brevity and of avoiding a confessional tale about my life during the last few years. There is, however, one exceptionClive Wilmer, who generously wielded his exacting red pencil on an entire draft, and tolerated many vacillations along the way.