Marginalised Women: Tracing ‘Misfortunate’ Female Ancestors

This workshop outlines the sources that we can use to trace the stories of these unlucky women. The circumstances in which these women found themselves were often exacerbated by society’s intolerance. The session will investigate those whose lives were touched by poverty, illegitimacy, criminality, mental illness and prostitution and who were stigmatised by society as a result. The ethics surrounding the telling of stories that these woman may have preferred to have kept hidden will also be discussed.