"Dipping pen into ink but really blood" Read the full letter
Helena Swanwick
Helena Swanwick nee Sickert (1864 - 1929) was German by birth from a family which settled in Britain; she was educated at Girton College, Cambridge. A feminist and a pacifist, Swanwick was a member of the executive committee of the Union of Democratic Control during the First World War, and like Schreiner she was an early critic of the League of Nations for replicating and enforcing world power imbalances. She remained involved in the UDC over many years, and also in international activities. She killed herself at the start of the Second World War.
In January 1920 when Helena Swanwick was thought to be dying of cancer, Schreiner was involved in organising donations to a fund for her, commenting in the PS to a letter to Betty Molteno that “^Mrs Swanwick has such splendid abilities, she could have been a rich women if she had spent her life working for herself.^” It is clear that Schreiner admired Helena Swanwick, but there is no sign that they knew each other personally or corresponded.
For further information see
Jose Harris (2004) ‘Swanwick , Helena Maria Lucy (1864-1939)’ Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Oxford University Press http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/38040
Helena Swanwick (1915) Women and War London: Union of Democratic Control.
Recipient Ofno letters
Mentioned In
University of Cape Town, Historical Manuscripts: Manuscripts & Archives at the University of Cape Town is a leading location for accessing archival papers across many per... Show/Hide Collection Letters
Olive Schreiner BC16/Box7/Fold3/Jan-Feb1920/3:Wednesday, Darling Betty, Mrs Swanwick is dying of cancer. We made a little collection for her. Ah, that I could have given m...