Cicely Hamilton facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Cicely Hamilton
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Cicely Hamilton, c. 1907
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Cicely Mary Hammill
15 June 1872 Paddington, London, England
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| Died | 6 December 1952 (aged 80) |
| Occupation | Actor, playwright, novelist |
| Known for | Suffragette, event organiser |
Cicely Mary Hamilton (born Cicely Hammill; June 15, 1872 – December 6, 1952) was an amazing English actress, writer, and journalist. She was also a strong supporter of women's rights, known as a suffragist and feminist. She played a big part in the fight for women to get the right to vote in the United Kingdom.
One of her most famous works is the play How the Vote was Won. In this play, a man who doesn't believe women should vote changes his mind when the women in his life go on strike. She also wrote A Pageant of Great Women, a popular play about famous women in history, which even featured Jane Austen.
Contents
Early Life and Career
Cicely Hammill was born in Paddington, London, in 1872. She was the oldest of four children. Cicely was raised by foster parents. This was because her mother had gone missing. She studied in Malvern, Worcestershire and in Bad Homburg vor der Höhe.
After a short time working as a teacher, she joined a touring acting company. She chose the stage name "Cicely Hamilton". This was to protect her family's privacy. Later, she started writing plays. Many of her plays focused on feminist ideas. She became very successful in the theatre world. People especially praised her acting in a play called Fanny's First Play by George Bernard Shaw.
Fighting for Women's Rights
In 1908, Cicely Hamilton and Bessie Hatton started the Women Writers' Suffrage League. This group grew to about 400 members. Famous writers like Ivy Compton-Burnett and Olive Schreiner joined. The League wrote many articles and books to support women's right to vote. They also got many important men to support their cause.
Cicely Hamilton wrote the words for "The March of the Women". This song was composed by Ethel Smyth in 1910. It became a very important song for the Women's Social and Political Union. The song was first performed to celebrate the release of women who were arrested on Black Friday. Its words were very powerful:
Shout, shout up with your song!
Cry with the wind for the dawn is breaking.
March, march swing you along,
Wide blows our banner and hope is waking,
Sing with its story, dreams with their glory,
Lo! They call and glad is their word!
Forward! Hark how it swells
Thunder and freedom, the voice of the Lord!
Plays for Change
Before radio was common, plays were a great way to share messages. Short plays could be performed all over the country. This led to the creation of suffrage drama. These plays helped spread the idea of women's right to vote.
Cicely Hamilton wrote How the Vote Was Won with Christopher St. John. She also wrote A Pageant of Great Women. This play was very popular. It was based on ideas from her friend, theatre director Edith Craig. Hamilton played the character "Woman" in the play. Craig played the painter Rosa Bonheur. The play featured about 50 great women from history. Photographs of the actors were sold to help the suffrage movement. The play was performed across the UK until the First World War.
Hamilton was also part of Craig's theatre group, the Pioneer Players. Her play Jack and Jill and a Friend was one of the first plays they performed in 1911. Cicely Hamilton inspired many young girls. One girl, Winifred Starbuck, kept pictures of Hamilton on her desk. She later protested in school to support women's suffrage.
Later Life and Works
During World War I, Cicely Hamilton first helped organize nursing care near Paris. She then joined the army as an auxiliary. Later, she formed a theatre group to entertain soldiers.
After the war, she worked as a freelance journalist. She was also a press officer for the International Suffrage Conference in Geneva. She wrote plays for the Birmingham Repertory Company. In 1923, she became a director of Lena Ashwell Players Ltd.
Hamilton wrote regularly for Time and Tide magazine. She was also an active member of the Six Point Group. This feminist group worked for the rights of children, widows, and single mothers. They also fought for equal pay in teaching and civil service jobs. In 1938, she received a special pension from the government.
Cicely Hamilton wrote a science-fiction novel called Theodore Savage (1922). It describes Britain after a devastating war. Her autobiography, Life Errant, was published in 1935. She passed away in Chelsea in 1952.
In 2017, her play 'Just to Get Married' was performed in London. It was the first time in over 100 years. The play received very good reviews from major newspapers.
Works
- The Traveller Returns (1906) play
- Diana of Dobson's (novel, play 1908)
- Women's Votes (1908)
- Marriage as a Trade (1909)
- How the Vote was Won (1909) play
- A Pageant of Great Women (1910) play
- Just to Get Married (1911) play
- Jack and Jill and a Friend (1911) play
- William - an Englishman (1920) novel
- The Child in Flanders: A Nativity Play (1922)
- Theodore Savage: A Story of the Past or the Future (1922)
- The Old Adam (1924) play
- Non-Combatant (1924)
- The Human Factor (1925)
- The Old Vic (1926) with Lilian Baylis
- Lest Ye Die (1928)
- Modern Germanies, as seen by an Englishwoman (1931)
- Modern Italy, as seen by an Englishwoman (1932)
- Modern France, as seen by an Englishwoman (1933)
- Little Arthur's History of the Twentieth Century (1933)
- Modern Russia, as seen by an Englishwoman (1934)
- Modern Austria, as seen by an Englishwoman (1935)
- Life Errant (1935) autobiography
- Modern Ireland, as seen by an Englishwoman (1936)
- Modern Scotland, as seen by an Englishwoman (1937)
- Modern England, as seen by an Englishwoman (1938)
- Modern Sweden, as seen by an Englishwoman (1939)
- The Englishwoman (1940)
- Lament for Democracy (1940)
- The Beggar Prince (1944) play
- Holland To-day (1950)
See also
In Spanish: Cicely Hamilton para niños
