Socialism and the New Life
The Personal and Sexual Politics of Edward Carpenter and Havelock Ellis
Rowbothan, Sheila; Weeks, Jeffrey
Publisher: Pluto Press, London, United Kingdom
Year Published: 1977
Pages: 198pp ISBN: 0-904383-52-0
Resource Type: Book
Cx Number: CX7652
Abstract:
Edward Carpenter was a prominent figure in the late nineteenth century socialist revival, a poet, a mystic, a penal reformer and advocate of a simpler life, a homosexual who ardently supported feminist aspirations. Havelock Ellis was a founder of the Fellowship of the New Life and a writer on literature, the arts, travel, philosophy and social policy. He is best known as a pioneer of sex psychology. Both these individuals, in their own ways, raised important questions about the interconnection between personal and sexual life and radical social change. This book critically examines the achievements of these two men, exploring past debates and suggesting "connections which still need to be made in modern socialist and feminist discussions and practice." The book is divided into two parts with the section on Carpenter written by Sheila Rowbotham and the section on Ellis covered by Jeffery Weeks. There is a single photograph each of Carpenter and Ellis and notes on their early lives.
[Abstract by Nabeeha Chaudhary]
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Part 1
Edward Carpenter: Prophet of the New Life
by Sheila Rowbotham
Childhood and Cambridge
University Extension and Radicalism in Sheffield
The New Life
The Sheffield Socialists
The Socialist Movement and a Culture of Everyday Life
Personal and Sexual Relationships with Men
Carpenter's Relationships with Women
Books and Ideas
Connections
References
Part 2
Havelock Ellis and the Politics of Sex Reform
by Jeffrey Weeks
Early Life and Outlook
Politics of Heterosexuality
'Anomalies'
The Laws of nature
References
Select Bibliography
Index
Subject Headings
