Edith Lees Ellis collection, 1869-1914
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Summary
- Creator:
- Ellis, Havelock, Mrs., 1861-1916 and Sallie Bingham Center for Women's History and Culture
- Abstract:
- Edith Lees Ellis was an English writer and lecturer promoting women's and workers' rights who authored Attainment and My Cornish Neighbours in the early 1900s. This collection contains two of her childhood Bibles as well as an assortment of clippings and a small amount of ephemeral correspondence. Acquired as part of the Sallie Bingham Center for Women's History and Culture.
- Extent:
- 0.5 Linear Feet (1 box)
- Language:
- Materials in English.
- Collection ID:
- RL.13135
Background
- Scope and content:
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Collection contains 2 Bibles owned by Edith Lees Ellis as a child, with her name inscribed and some annotations and marginalia present. Also contains 2 items of correspondence from Ellis to her half-brother, Arthur Oldham Lees; some clippings relating to Ellis's writings, interests, and her relationship with Havelock Ellis; and an alphabet book, Edith's Alphabet, apparently gifted to Arthur as a child from his grandmother.
- Biographical / historical:
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Edith Lees Ellis (1861-1916) was an English writer, lecturer, and activist interested in women's and workers' rights. She was born in Lancashire and educated in a convent and boarding school in London. As a young adult, she joined a commune founded by the socialist-leaning Fellowship of the New Life. Her early writings satirized this period even as she also continued to advocate for women's rights and economic independence. Some of her writings include short stories and plays, published as Attainment, My Cornish Neighbours, The Idealist, The Imperishable Wing, Love-Acre, and several others.
Edith Lees met Havelock Ellis (1859-1939) while both were at Fellowship of the New Life, and the couple married in 1891. Their relationship was not sexual, and they frequently lived separately. Sources indicate that Edith was a lesbian and had several close female companions and relationships over the course of her life. Havelock Ellis wrote about her sexuality and their marriage in his publications on sexual psychology and in his autobiography. Some of her writings also appear to reference homosexuality.
Edith Ellis suffered many physical and mental health ailments over the course of her life. She died of diabetes in 1916.
Source: https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-90000369546
- Acquisition information:
- The Edith Lees Ellis collection was received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as a purchase from Quair Books in 2024.
- Processing information:
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Processed by Meghan Lyon, April 2025
Accessions described in this collection guide: 2024-0138
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Subjects
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Contents
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- Restrictions:
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Collection is open for research.
- Terms of access:
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- Preferred citation:
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[Identification of item], Edith Lees Ellis collection, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.
- Permalink:
- https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/m11x7j