Letter from Constance Lytton to Annie Kenney, 1909
Dublin Core
Title
Letter from Constance Lytton to Annie Kenney, 1909
Subject
Political activists
Political participation
Description
[Transcript of letter is available below] Dated 24 May 1909, this is a letter from Lady Constance Lytton (1869-1923) to Annie Kenney. In it she confirms an upcoming meeting with Annie and Mrs Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence (one of WSPU's leaders together with her husband Frederick Pethick-Lawrence, Emmeline Pankhurst and Christabel Pankhurst) and shares her anxiety about public speaking in an atmosphere charged with disagreement. Constance Lytton was a prominent suffragette, women's rights activist, and campaigner for prison reform. She was imprisoned on a number of occasions, but felt she was not given the same treatment as other suffragette inmates due to her aristocratic background. To test her theory, she gave a fake name - Jane Warton - after being taken to Walton Gaol, Liverpool. As Jane Warton, she adopted the hunger strike and was force-fed - an experience which disturbed her health for the rest of her life. She documented the experience in her 1914 memoir Prisons and Prisoners.
Creator
Lytton, Lady Constance
Source
Kenney Papers, University of East (UEA) Anglia Archives
Publisher
Unknown
Date
24th May 1909
Rights
Copyright: Owned by Knebworth Estates – www.knebworthhouse.com. All rights are reserved.
Source: UEA Archives: Transcript: Stanislava Dikova
Creative Commons: This image is also available within Creative Commons BY-NC and all copyright and the source must be attributed. The image must not be used for commercial purposes.
Format
jpeg image file
Language
English (United Kingdom)
Type
Identifier
KP/AK/2/Lytton/7
Text Item Type Metadata
Original Format
Letter
Transcription
[Transcribed by Stanislava Dikova]
May 27, 1909
Dear Annie Kenney, Mrs Lawrence told me she would be leaving by the [illegible] p.m. (mid-day) from Paddington train on Tuesday next. I shall be there without fail this time. I am so hugely looking forward to
[Page 2]
being with you and her again, but oh! I do wish I could feel some control of my speechifying instead of letting it [illegible] on the top of me and grip me with terror-making claws. It is specially difficult to feel strong in the matter
[Page 3]
when one lives mostly in an atmosphere of opponents. I can’t help complaining to you because you are so sympathising but I don’t really mean to grumble and I know I shall feel alright when I am with you again.
[Page 4]
Yours always after, Connie Lytton.
May 27, 1909
Dear Annie Kenney, Mrs Lawrence told me she would be leaving by the [illegible] p.m. (mid-day) from Paddington train on Tuesday next. I shall be there without fail this time. I am so hugely looking forward to
[Page 2]
being with you and her again, but oh! I do wish I could feel some control of my speechifying instead of letting it [illegible] on the top of me and grip me with terror-making claws. It is specially difficult to feel strong in the matter
[Page 3]
when one lives mostly in an atmosphere of opponents. I can’t help complaining to you because you are so sympathising but I don’t really mean to grumble and I know I shall feel alright when I am with you again.
[Page 4]
Yours always after, Connie Lytton.
Collection
Citation
Lytton, Lady Constance, “Letter from Constance Lytton to Annie Kenney, 1909,” Suffragette Stories, accessed November 10, 2025, https://suffragettestories.omeka.net/items/show/46.