Introduction: "Ruth Slate was a clerk in a grocery firm in the City, Eva Slawson a legal secretary from Walthamstow. They met in 1902, and formed a loving relationship which Ruth called 'the foundation of my life'. The letters and diaries they wrote over twenty years provide a first hand account of some of the great suffrage rallies, of leaders like Christabel Pankhurst and Charlotte Despard. They reveal a gradual disenchanment with orthodox religion and a commitment ot pacifism which grew during World War I. Above all they show the valiant efforts of Ruth and Eva, despite poverty, sickness and loss, to respond and contribute to the great issues of their time." This unique record of a friendship takes us to the heart of early 20th century feminism in Britain, viewing what has been regarded as an exclusively middle-class movement through the eyes of two young working women, whose enthusiastic experiments with sex, socialism and feminism will be irresistibly familiar to modern readers.

Personen: Thompson, Tierl