Red Duchess: Kitty Atholl, A Rebel in Westminster

Tour behind the scenes of Westminster with the life and rebellions of Scotland's first woman MP. The first Scottish woman MP, the first Conservative woman minister and the only opponent of appeasement brave enough to put her beliefs to the electorate, Katharine Stewart-Murray, the Duchess of Atholl, needs this definitive biography to bring her story to a new audience. A talented pianist from an ancient Scottish family, Kitty Ramsay married into the aristocracy and found herself with an unfaithful husband who had constant money troubles. Through war nursing and charity work she was one of the most prominent women in Scotland by the time she was elected in 1923. Her diligent service as an education minister who prioritised children made her subsequent rebellions even more surprising. Her political life was full of apparent contradictions: the critic of Soviet and Nazi tyranny who opposed self-government for India, the trailblazing female politician who had thought women didn't need the vote, the Tory who spoke alongside communists, and the shy public speaker dubbed 'the Red Duchess' who travelled the world to fundraise for Spanish refugees. 'Anything the Duchess does is news', the papers wrote during her doomed by-election campaign in 1938. As a 21st century audience rediscovers its female pioneers, it is time to remember the politician who paid the highest political price for her refusal to play by the rules. AUTHOR: Amy Gray has spent fifteen years working in public affairs and politics and has stood for Parliament twice. She splits her time between Cambridge and Scotland with her husband and two children. 20 illustrations

About the Author :
AMY GRAY has spent fifteen years working in public affairs and politics and has stood for Parliament twice. She splits her time between Cambridge and Scotland with her husband and two children. AMY GRAY has spent fifteen years working in public affairs and politics and has stood for Parliament twice. She splits her time between Cambridge and Scotland with her husband and two children.

Review :
‘With this admirable book, Amy Gray puts the Duchess of Atholl back where she belongs, in the front row of twentieth century politics. Meticulous research and illuminating use of contemporary sources make Red Duchess a fascinating and hugely valuable addition to the political and social history of the period.’ ‘Gray skilfully takes us from the optimistic advances of late-Victorian Britain into the political and social earthquake of two World Wars. Through Kitty, we see the world as it appeared to someone in a unique position. Both traditionalist and pioneer, changing her outlook and willing to learn, yet always remaining loyal to herself, Kitty has inexplicably faded into the mists of history until now. In this masterful work, Gray takes us on a highly-descriptive, in-depth journey through the challenges of being at once a most privileged female of a time to the Duchess having to confront the same challenges many modern women face. It is a fascinating, brilliantly written, beautifully-paced work which is well worth your time.’ ‘Amy Gray tells the fascinating story of a principled, colourful maverick who was by one of the first women MPs. Kitty Atholl was also to the fore in warning the world of the dangers of both fascism and communism, and sacrificed her career fighting the appeasers in her party. History proved her right, but unfairly, history also forgot her. Amy Gray's excellent biography helps restore the Duchess to an honourable place in our past.’ ‘Before Margaret Thatcher, before Barbara Castle, there was Katharine Stewart-Murray, the ‘Red Duchess’ of Atholl and one of the great female pioneers of UK politics. Amy Gray’s deeply-researched biography compellingly reconstructs her moral clarity, her unequivocal human rights campaigns against the “twin totalitarianisms” of Fascism and Communism, and her profound impact on the lives of glittering contemporaries such as Winston Churchill and Samuel Coleridge Taylor. In Gray, this unjustly forgotten heroine has finally found the biographer she deserves.’ ‘What an extraordinary person and what an extraordinary book. Riveting.’ ‘The Duchess of Atholl has long been in need of a full biography, and I am delighted that Amy Gray has now supplied one. I enjoyed Red Duchess immensely. Gray's archival research is very detailed and extremely impressive, carefully documenting the duchess's life and career, and explains her significance in areas of politics and public life which have previously been overlooked or misunderstood. I hope the book brings 'Kitty' the attention she deserves.’ 'A strangely captivating portrait of an unexpected pioneer.’ ‘With this admirable book, Amy Gray puts the Duchess of Atholl back where she belongs, in the front row of twentieth century politics. Meticulous research and illuminating use of contemporary sources make Red Duchess a fascinating and hugely valuable addition to the political and social history of the period.’ ‘Gray skilfully takes us from the optimistic advances of late-Victorian Britain into the political and social earthquake of two World Wars. Through Kitty, we see the world as it appeared to someone in a unique position. Both traditionalist and pioneer, changing her outlook and willing to learn, yet always remaining loyal to herself, Kitty has inexplicably faded into the mists of history until now. In this masterful work, Gray takes us on a highly-descriptive, in-depth journey through the challenges of being at once a most privileged female of a time to the Duchess having to confront the same challenges many modern women face. It is a fascinating, brilliantly written, beautifully-paced work which is well worth your time.’ ‘Amy Gray tells the fascinating story of a principled, colourful maverick who was by one of the first women MPs. Kitty Atholl was also to the fore in warning the world of the dangers of both fascism and communism, and sacrificed her career fighting the appeasers in her party. History proved her right, but unfairly, history also forgot her. Amy Gray's excellent biography helps restore the Duchess to an honourable place in our past.’ ‘Before Margaret Thatcher, before Barbara Castle, there was Katharine Stewart-Murray, the ‘Red Duchess’ of Atholl and one of the great female pioneers of UK politics. Amy Gray’s deeply-researched biography compellingly reconstructs her moral clarity, her unequivocal human rights campaigns against the “twin totalitarianisms” of Fascism and Communism, and her profound impact on the lives of glittering contemporaries such as Winston Churchill and Samuel Coleridge Taylor. In Gray, this unjustly forgotten heroine has finally found the biographer she deserves.’ ‘What an extraordinary person and what an extraordinary book. Riveting.’ ‘The Duchess of Atholl has long been in need of a full biography, and I am delighted that Amy Gray has now supplied one. I enjoyed Red Duchess immensely. Gray's archival research is very detailed and extremely impressive, carefully documenting the duchess's life and career, and explains her significance in areas of politics and public life which have previously been overlooked or misunderstood. I hope the book brings 'Kitty' the attention she deserves.’ 'A strangely captivating portrait of an unexpected pioneer.’