Suffragettes, politicians, entrepreneurs, and magicians are just some of the 115 extraordinary Hackney women profiled in the second volume of Women from Hackney’s History, produced by the Hackney Society. Following the success of the first volume – which sold nearly 2,000 copies – this new volume continues the journey into Hackney’s colourful past.
Janet Chapman, chairwoman of the Hackney Society, said: “We are keen to tell the stories of these amazing women”, many of whom have until now been “largely forgotten”.
Chapman added that Hackney has a “deeply radical, nonconformist history” and that its position “near the city but outside has long attracted freethinkers”, such as the women the new volume documents.
The Hackney History Festival, organised by Chapman, returns this May and will explore many of these themes.
The festival is collaborating with Wikipedia UK to “upskill local historians to add information into Wikipedia,” which will help “to develop knowledge of women from Hackney’s history that are unrepresented,” Chapman said.
Hackney’s Women from Hackney’s History Volume II will officially launch on 8 March in Shoreditch Town Hall. It will be published by the Hackney Society and Hackney History, and sold on the Hackney Society website and in local bookshops.
