Letter to Mrs [Sarah?] Tooley

31 July 1907

Heritage Collection, Dunedin Public Library

Unpublished

Mary Augusta Ward (1851-1920), daughter of the writer Thomas (Tom) Arnold, published many successful novels under the name ‘Mrs Humphrey Ward’. She was also actively involved with educational causes, helping to establish Somerville College, one of the first women's colleges in Oxford. Ironically, her leadership in the Women’s Anti-Suffrage Association in 1908 caused her to be disowned by this very institution. In this letter from Ward to a Mrs Tooley – most likely ‘New Woman’ advocate and journalist Sarah Tooley (1857-1946) – Ward avows her anti-suffrage views.