Dona Torr facts for kids

Dona Ruth Anne Torr (born April 28, 1883 – died January 8, 1957) was an important British historian. She was a big influence on a group of historians called the Communist Party Historians Group. Dona Torr was also known for translating many important books about Marxism into English. She started writing a biography about a famous worker's rights leader, Tom Mann, but she didn't finish it.

Dona Torr's Early Life and Education

Dona Torr grew up in a family with three sisters and two younger brothers. Her father, William Torr, was a vicar and a Canon at Chester Cathedral. Her family was well-known and her grandfather, John Torr, was a rich merchant and a Member of Parliament.

Dona went to University College, London. She studied there on and off. Before the First World War, she earned a degree in English.

Dona Torr's Career and Work

Before the Communist Party of Great Britain was formed, Dona Torr worked as a librarian. She was at the Daily Herald newspaper. There, she met her future husband, Walter Holmes.

In 1920, Dona Torr helped start the Communist Party of Great Britain. She often worked behind the scenes. She helped with party publications. During the General Strike in London in 1926, she worked as a courier. This meant she delivered important messages.

Dona also traveled to Moscow. She worked as a translator for a big meeting called the Fifth Congress of the Communist International. She was very good at German, which was useful there. She also worked at the Marx-Engels Institute. There, she translated important letters between Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels into English. This work made her known as a Marxist scholar in Britain.

Later, she helped prepare a special edition of Marx's famous book, Capital. This was for a publisher called George Allen and Unwin.

Working at Lawrence and Wishart

Dona Torr worked at the party's publishing house, Martin Lawrence. This company later joined with another to become Lawrence and Wishart. She worked closely with a former poet named Douglas Garman.

In 1940, they asked a young Oxford teacher, Christopher Hill, to edit some essays. This was to celebrate 300 years since the English Revolution of 1640. This project was important for the party. It aimed to be a main text for their training center, Marx House in London.

Walter Holmes and Party Journalism

Dona's husband, Walter Holmes, was a journalist. He worked for the Daily Herald. In the 1920s, he wrote for the Communist Party's Sunday Worker. In the 1930s, he became an important writer for the Daily Worker. He even traveled to Russia and Manchuria to report on events. It's possible Dona Torr went with him on some trips.

Dona herself did not write much for the main party newspapers. She sometimes wrote for party journals like Labour Monthly.

Dona Torr's Influence on Historians

From 1936, Dona Torr worked to encourage historical study within the party. She started writing her biography of Tom Mann. She also published a short book about him in 1936. She believed there was a need to "breed new historians, awaken and train them." She helped form a "Marxist Historians' Group" in 1938. Later, she helped create the "Historians' Group" in 1946.

Working with E.P. Thompson

One historian who praised Dona Torr was E.P. Thompson. He worked closely with her for many years. They worked on a biography of William Morris. Thompson thanked Dona Torr in his book. He said she often put aside her own work to help him. He felt that parts of his book were like a team effort with her. He called her a "Communist scholar so versatile, so distinguished, and so generous."

However, historians debate how much she influenced Thompson's later ways of studying history. His first major work, Morris, didn't show the "History From Below" approach he became famous for. His most famous work, The Making of the English Working Class, was written long after Dona Torr died.

Influence on Christopher Hill and John Saville

Other well-known historians from the party's Historians' Group, like Christopher Hill and John Saville, published a collection of essays to honor Dona Torr. Many wanted to contribute, but there were too many.

Christopher Hill wrote the introduction for this book. He said that Dona Torr made them "feel history on our pulses." He explained that history was not just about kings or events. It was about "the sweat, blood, tears and triumphs of the common people, our people."

Dona Torr worked with these young historians to help them use Marxist ideas in "Labour History." This was a new field of study. She was very generous with her time. She carefully checked and commented on their draft work. She was an ideal editor for young writers. Their work was often published by party publishers like Lawrence and Wishart.

Lasting Impact on History Studies

Dona Torr did not create new ways of doing historical research herself. She didn't use new methods like oral history. But her work with the Historians' Group led to important new developments.

Members of her group helped create two important journals: Past & Present and, later, the Labour History Review. After her death, the "Moderns" (a part of the group) helped form the Society of Labour History. This society still exists today and publishes its own journal.

The Historians' Group, which Dona Torr helped start, also led to the creation of History Workshop. It also inspired other leftist conferences and events. These helped further the study of history in Britain. Even though mainstream historians sometimes rejected their work, these efforts continued. They led to studies in cultural history, feminist history, and traditional labor history.

In 2017, Dona Torr was featured in a conference called London's Women Historians. This event was held at the Institute of Historical Research.

Selected Works by Dona Torr

• Tom Mann (1936) – a booklet for Tom Mann's 80th birthday.
• "Correspondence: Marx and Engels" (1934) – translated by Dona Torr.
• Marxism, nationality and war / a text-book (editor) (1940).
• Marxism and war (1943).
• History in the making (General Editor) (1948) – a series of four books.
• Tom Mann and his Times, vol. 1 (1956) – prepared for publishing after her illness by Christopher Hill and A.L. Morton.
• Democracy and the Labour Movement. Essays in honour of D. Torr (1954) – a collection of essays edited by John Saville, Christopher Hill, George Thomson, and Maurice Dobb.