#esther roper

[stairnaheireann]

#OTD in 1870 – Birth of Eva Gore-Booth, poet, trade unionist and feminist, on the Lissadell Estate in Co Sligo.

Eva Selina Laura Gore-Booth was an Irish poet and dramatist, and a committed suffragist, social worker and labour activist. She was born at Lissadell House, Co Sligo, the younger sister of Constance Gore-Booth, later known as the Countess Markievicz. Both she and Constance, who later became a prominent Irish revolutionary, reacted against their privileged background and devoted themselves to…

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[queerchoicesblog]

Random Research Update

Gotta love those historians/commenters who write: "In 1896, while on a trip to Italy, Eva Gore-Booth (Countess Markiewicz’s sister, btw) met Esther Roper, leading suffragist and activist. The two women became friends and lifelong partners although there is no evidence they were lovers".

No, there are truly no evidence especially considering that:

Esther later wrote of their meeting in a letter: “For months illness kept us in the south, and we spent the days walking and talking on the hillside by the sea. Each was attracted to the work and thoughts of the other, and we soon became friends and companions for life"

After the time they spent there together Eva further rejected her privileged rural life in Ireland and moved into the urban Manchester environment. There she purchased property with Esther who became her partner in her sexual politics activism and suffrage work

After knowing each other for four years Eva made Esther the sole beneficiary of her estate

They were lifelong companions in their own words

Together with transgender woman Irene Clyde, they founded Urania, a radical journal concerning sexual politics. Its aim was to promote the elimination of the glorification of heterosexual marriage and sex and gender distinctions altogether. "Sex Is An Accident" was the main philosophy advocating for a gender less society

Urania also promoted the idea of same-sex love being ideal particularly between females and dealt with gay and trans issues

Eva Gore-Booth wrote poems portraying love from one woman to another

She also had a Sappho quote engraved on her gravestone

Did I mentioned that Eva and Esther are buried in the same grave?

But no, Janet, you're absolutely right: both Eva and Esther never once explicitly outed themselves as lesbians in a time when it was so easy and safe to do so AND yeah, they had separated rooms in the Manchester house where they spent their life together so no, the idea of them having a sexual or at least romantic relationship is so crazy. God, how do you people get involved in a relationship in a house with not one but two beds? It makes no sense!

You're so right, Janet: they were just...

GALS BEING PALS

[misplacedprincess262]

THIS IS A CONSTANCE MARKIEVICZ/GORE-BOOTH AND EVA GORE-BOOTH APPRECIATION POST (and also Esther Roper)

They were just *wipes tear* so amazing. Anyway, where is their movie already???? There'd be Irish revolutionary action, women's suffrage, art and poetry, lesbian romance. What more do you need?!?!

[365daysoflesbians]

MAY 22: Eva Gore-Booth (1870-1926)

The Irish poet, suffragist, and social activist Eva Gore-Booth was born on this day in 1870!

A young Eva is pictured in a painting done by her older sister Constance (x).

Eva was born in County Sligo, Ireland on May 22, 1870. Her parents were Sir Henry and Lady Georgina Gore-Booth of Lissadell. She lived a very privileged life as the third out of five children to be born to the Baron and Baroness of Lissdale House, an estate which had been in her family for generations. As a child she was somewhat of a globetrotter and accompanied her father on trips to places such as Jamaica, Cuba, San Francisco, and Montreal. While in Venice, Eva was struck with a sudden respiratory illness and was sent to the countryside villa of a family friend to recuperate. It was there, in Bordighera, Italy, where she met her life partner Esther Roper. After their health was restored, Eva and Esther settled down in Manchester, England and began to rise to political prominence. Despite coming from a very wealthy and notable family, Eva became active in leftist political circles of northern England and many credit her and Esther’s work with getting working class English women politically conscious and linking them up with the suffragist scene. Eva was a member of the executive council of the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies and joined the Labour Party later on in life.

Photos of Eva Gore-Booth and her partner Esther Roper are placed side by side. After Eva’s death in 1926, Esther followed suit not long after in 1939. (x)

In the midst of all her activism, Eva was also a gifted poet and dramatist. She was most well-known for her evocative poetry that directly questioned sexual and gender mores of the time; along with her fellow poet friends, Eva started a journal called Urania. Many interpret the title to be a reference to the word “Uranian,” which was a nineteenth century term psychologists and scientists used to refer to gay people. Urania published poems and essays about women loving women, about suffragists who had experienced the front lines of protests and had come in contact with police brutality, and about how gender was a social construct. Eva, in spite of being a demure and shy woman, was ahead of her time. She passed away on June 30, 1926 in London. She is buried next to her life long love and partner, Esther, and her tombstone reads “"Life that is Love is God" – a quote from the poet Sappho.

-LC

[stairnaheireann]

#OTD in 1870 – Birth of Eva Gore-Booth, poet, trade unionist and feminist, on the Lissadell Estate in Co Sligo.

#OTD in 1870 – Birth of Eva Gore-Booth, poet, trade unionist and feminist, on the Lissadell Estate in Co Sligo.

Eva Selina Laura Gore-Booth was an Irish poet and dramatist, and a committed suffragist, social worker and labour activist. She was born at Lissadell House, Co Sligo, the younger sister of Constance Gore-Booth, later known as the Countess Markievicz. Both she and Constance, who later became a prominent Irish revolutionary, reacted against their privileged background and devoted themselves to…

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[stairnaheireann]

#OTD in 1870 – Birth of Eva Gore-Booth, poet, trade unionist and feminist, on the Lissadell Estate in Co Sligo.

#OTD in 1870 – Birth of Eva Gore-Booth, poet, trade unionist and feminist, on the Lissadell Estate in Co Sligo.

Eva Selina Laura Gore-Booth was an Irish poet and dramatist, and a committed suffragist, social worker and labour activist. She was born at Lissadell House, Co Sligo, the younger sister of Constance Gore-Booth, later known as the Countess Markievicz. Both she and Constance, who later became a prominent Irish revolutionary, reacted against their privileged background and devoted themselves to…

View On WordPress

[stairnaheireann]

#OTD in 1870 – Birth of Eva Gore-Booth, poet, trade unionist and feminist, on the Lissadell Estate in Co Sligo.

#OTD in 1870 – Birth of Eva Gore-Booth, poet, trade unionist and feminist, on the Lissadell Estate in Co Sligo.

Eva Selina Laura Gore-Booth was an Irish poet and dramatist, and a committed suffragist, social worker and labour activist. She was born at Lissadell House, Co Sligo, the younger sister of Constance Gore-Booth, later known as the Countess Markievicz.

Both she and Constance, who later became a prominent Irish revolutionary, reacted against their privileged background and devoted themselves to…

View On WordPress

[stairnaheireann]

#OTD in 1870 – Birth of Eva Gore-Booth, poet, trade unionist and feminist, on the Lissadell Estate in Co Sligo.

#OTD in 1870 – Birth of Eva Gore-Booth, poet, trade unionist and feminist, on the Lissadell Estate in Co Sligo.

Eva Selina Laura Gore-Booth was an Irish poet and dramatist, and a committed suffragist, social worker and labour activist. She was born at Lissadell House, Co Sligo, the younger sister of Constance Gore-Booth, later known as the Countess Markievicz.

Both she and Constance, who later became a prominent Irish revolutionary, reacted against their privileged background and devoted themselves to…

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