Angels of the North

(RT HON BARONESS ) JOYCE QUIN Born and brought up on Tyneside, Joyce took a first in French at Newcastle University followed by a Master's degree in International Relations at the London School of Economics. Following a number of years as a Lecturer at Bath and Durham Universities she was elected MEP for Tyne and Wear in 1979. In 1987 she became Member of Parliament for Gateshead East and served as a Government Minister from 1997 to 2001. She was appointed to the House of Lords in 2006, taking as her title Baroness Quin of Gateshead. She is an Honorary Fellow of Sunderland University and of St. Mary's College, University of Durham. She is a Freeman of the Borough of Gateshead and in 2010 was made "Officier de la Legion d'Honneur" by the Government of France. Outside politics she has always been keenly interested in North-East local history and since the 1970s has been one of Newcastle's Volunteer City Guides. She also plays the Northumbrian pipes and is President of the Northumbrian Pipers' Society. In 2017 she took up an appointment as Chair of the Strategic Board of Tyne and Wear Archives and Museums. She is the author of a book on the British Constitution which was published in 2010. She lives in Warkworth, Northumberland.MOIRA KILKENNYMoira has a degree in Modern History from Durham University and went on to Cavendish Square, London University for her Postgraduate Certificate in Education. Later she gained a Master's Degree from Newcastle University. She has taught or worked in Education for more than thirty years. She was a Senior Advisor/inspector in Durham LEA, before becoming Head of St. Philomena's High School for Girls in Surrey, a post she held for eleven years until her retirement. Throughout her life, her main aim has been to raise the confidence, aspiration and achievement levels of the young and especially girls. Now in retirement in Warkworth she enjoys being close to her grandchildren, she plays some golf, Chairs the Warkworth History Society and is a frequent visitor to the local archive offices in pursuit of fresh role models to inspire us all, old and young.

• Preface by Ann CleevesIntroductionMary Astell Pioneer Feminist Writer Gertrude Bell Explorer, Archeologist, Arab diplomat and Scholar Margaret Bondfield The First Woman Cabinet Minister Mary Eleanor Bowes Tragic Heiress Elinor M. Brent Dyer Prolific writer, author of the Chalet School Stories Kathleen Brown Suffragette and Newcastle's first hunger-striker Josephine Butler Pre-eminent Victorian Social Reformer Ivy Close Britain's First National Beauty Queen and Movie Star Grace ColmanMP, Educator and Defender of Animal Rights Ida Cook Opera Buffs and Heroines of the Holocaust Catherine Cookson Best-selling Author Grace Darling Heroine Emily Davies Pioneer of Women's Higher Education Emily Wilding DavisonLeading Suffragette and Campaigner Ruth Dodds Playwright and Political Activist Elizabeth ElstobAnglo-Saxon Scholar Lady Sybil GreyEstablished the Red Cross Hospital in Petrograd 1916 Isa Jobling Landscape and genre painter in oil and watercolour Sister Winifred Laver Servant of Gateshead's Poor and Destitute for sixty years Dorothy Lawson Recusant and Priest harbourer Connie Lewcock Suffragette and Tyneside Politician Charlie Marsh Militant Suffragette, suffered imprisonment and force-feeding Harriet Martineau Britain's First Woman Sociologist Sister Kate Maxey Distinguished Nurse of World War One Elizabeth Montagu Literary Patron, Author and Coal MagnateMo Mowlam Cabinet Minister and Northern Ireland Peace Negotiator Dr Ruth Nicholson First World War Surgeon and Medical Pioneer Rachel Parsons Engineer and campaigner for women's employment Mabel Philipson Gaiety Girl and the North-East's First Woman MP Dr Marion Phillips Outstanding Women's Organiser Anna Richardson Leading Anti-Slavery Campaigner Muriel Robb England Ladies Singles Tennis Champion Denise Robertson Novelist and Well-loved `Agony Aunt' Flora Robson Dramatic Actress of Stage and Screen Githa Sowerby Author and playwright Nancy Spain Prominent Journalist and Broadcaster Irene Ward The `Mother of the House' Lady Louisa Waterford Artist and Philanthropist Ellen Wilkinson Cabinet Minister and Jarrow `Crusader' Dr Ethel Williams Newcastle's First Woman Doctor and Suffragist Select Bibliography

It is fitting that in this year of the Great Exhibition of the North we pay tribute to some of the region's preeminent women and hope that their example can be an inspiration for the future. Rt. Hon. Baroness Betty Boothroyd, OM, PC;First, and to date - only Woman Speaker of the House of Commons;;I feel a kindred spirit with many of the amazing women highlighted in this important historic book, especially the two inspirational campaigners against slavery, Anna Richardson and Harriet Martineau. Also in this anniversary year of women being granted the right to vote, it is wonderful that the remarkable contribution of North-East women to the suffragette cause is being recognised. This book will act as a lasting legacy for future generations.;Baroness Floella Benjamin, OBE DL;Actress, writer, broadcaster, campaigner for diversity & children's wellbeing;;I love this book and the extraordinary women whose lives it describes. I'm ashamed to say I had only heard of about half of them and there were even fewer that I really knew anything about - but this fascinating and inspiring book has taught me great a deal about the `Angels of the North', if you're proud of the North East you need to read it.;John Grundy;Television presenter and historian;;This is an outstanding record of the talents and dedication of the women of the North East, each of them brilliant in her own field, whether its social reform, creativity, politics, travel, or innovation. Joyce Quin and Moira Kilkenny introduce you to women you will admire and cherish...pioneers who bring credit to the land that nurtured them.;Baroness Joan Bakewell DBE;Broadcaster and Journalist;;The North-East has produced an inspiring array of notable women who influenced lives in it and far beyond. In the year when we are celebrating the region's past and seeking inspiration from it for the future, here is an ideal way to pay tribute to them.;Anne McElvoy;Columnist and Broadcaster