Sophia Jex-Blake and the Battle for Women Doctors

This book provides the first account of Sophia Jex-Blake’s secret writings for the Scotsman newspaper, anonymous contributions that shaped her 1870s campaign for women doctors in Britain. Drawing upon the author's recent discovery that Jex-Blake worked as a paid journalist for the Scotsman during the campaign and later praised and cited her own pieces while allowing readers to believe they had been written by a man, it weaves these revelations into an updated narrative that centers Jex-Blake’s strategic use of the press to shape public opinion and steer legal debates. An important and often misunderstood historical figure, this account deepens and complicates Jex-Blake’s legacy by revealing her careful, strategic efforts to open the medical profession to women. Essential for anyone interested in women’s history, medicine, journalism, and social reform, this book reveals the way in which one woman was able use the power of the press to shape the political and legal battle for women’s access to the medical profession.