Edith Grey Wheelwright
Edith Grey Wheelwright (1868 – 24 September 1949) was a British writer, suffragist and botanist. She served as Secretary to the Bath Branch of the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies (NUWSS) from 1909 through 1913.
Edith Grey Wheelwright | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 1868 Crowhurst, Surrey, England, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland |
| Died | 24 September 1949 (aged 80–81) Clevedon, England, United Kingdom |
| Alma mater | Oxford |
| Occupations | Writer, botanist and suffragette |
| Employer | The Girl's Own Paper |
| Organization(s) | Women's Social and Political Union National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies |
Edith Grey Wheelwright (1868 – 24 September 1949) was a British writer, suffragist and botanist. She served as Secretary to the Bath Branch of the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies (NUWSS) from 1909 through 1913.
Biography
[edit]
Wheelwright was born in 1868 in Crowhurst, Surrey, England. She studied botany and geology at the University of Oxford.[2][3]
She was the author of three novels; The Vengeance of Medea (1894), Anthony Graeme (1895), and A Slow Awakening (1902). Additionally she wrote for the publications The Girl’s Own Paper and Great Thoughts.[2][3]
Wheelwright initially became involved with the British suffrage movement through the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU), but left because she preferred the non-militant stance of the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies (NUWSS). She was secretary of the Bath Branch of the NUWSS 1909 through 1913.[2]
In her later years, Wheelwright wrote five books on the subject of medicinal plants and gardening,[3] including The Physick Garden (1935), which was reviewed by The New York Times.[4] She began a friendship with writer and illustrator Beatrix Potter because of their mutual interest in plants.[3]
Wheelwright died on 24 September 1949 in Clevedon, Somerset, England, from accidental coal gas poisoning.[3]
References
[edit]- ^ "Suffragettes Edith Wheelwright and Lilias Ashworth Hallett 1911". Bath In Time. Retrieved 28 February 2026.
- ^ a b c "Edith Gray Wheelwright". Suffragette Stories. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
- ^ a b c d e Hobbs, Helen (6 April 2018). "Edith Gray Wheelwright". Sydney Buildings - Bath. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
- ^ "Medicinal Plants; THE PHYSICK GARDEN. Medicinal Plants and their History. By Edith Grey Wheelwright. Illustrated from Photographs and Sketches by Ethel M. Barlow. 288 pp. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. $3". The New York Times. 17 February 1935. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 28 February 2026.
Further reading
[edit]"Medicinal Plants and Their History" by Edith Grey Wheelwright ISBN 0486231038
"Medicinal Plants in Wartime" [1]
