Mary Somerville (1780-1872) was a Scottish polymath: a mathematician, scientist, astronomer, geographer, geologist and artist. Her interest in science stemmed from a fascination with the natural world, which began when she was a child in Burntisland in Fife. She received a little, basic schooling, and instead educated herself in Latin, Greek algebra and geometry, hiding her studies from her disapproving… Read More »Mary Somerville Collections
Margaret Kennedy (1896-1967) read Modern History at Somerville from 1915-19. She was celebrated in the 1920s and 1930s for her novels, the most famous of which was The Constant Nymph (1924), her second published work. It brought her instant recognition, was a commercial and literary success, and was reprinted in several editions in Britain and America. Margaret Kennedy adapted The Constant… Read More »Margaret Kennedy Papers
Margery Fry (given name Sara Margery Fry, 1874-1957) was the descendant of a large and notable Quaker family of chocolate manufacturers and philanthropists. Her great-aunt was Elizabeth Fry, the 19th century prison reformer. Margery’s father was a high court judge and her siblings included Joan, a social reformer, Anna, a pacifist, and Roger, artist, critic and member of the Bloomsbury… Read More »Margery Fry Collection
Amelia Ann Blanford Edwards (1831-1892) is celebrated as the ‘Founding Mother’ of Egyptology. She was a writer, famed in her lifetime for her novels which included Barbara’s History (1864) and Lord Brackenbury (1880). She contributed short stories to Charles Dickens’ magazines, Household Words and All the Year Round, and wrote for newspapers including the Morning Post. A talented musician, artist,… Read More »Amelia Edwards Collection