Red Duchess - by Amy Gray (Hardcover)

About the Book

Tour behind the scenes of Westminster with the life and rebellions of Scotland's first woman MP

Book Synopsis

A pioneering female politician who believed women didn't need the vote. A conservative who shared platforms with communists. A shy public speaker who traveled the world championing Spanish refugees.

The formidable Duchess of Atholl was full of contradictions.

Born into an ancient Scottish family and married to a philandering duke, Kitty Atholl rose above the constraints of class and convention to become a tireless advocate for women and children. By the time she was elected as Scotland's first female MP in 1923, she was already one of the most prominent women in the country--and she would soon shock Westminster with her outspoken rebellions against her own government.

She stood with Spanish refugees and challenged fascism, visited war zones, campaigned alongside political opponents, and defied tyrants--all while writing her own political playbook.

In Red Duchess, Kitty Atholl's extraordinary life finally takes center stage--a compelling story of courage, conviction, and a woman who refused to play by the rules.

Review Quotes

â ~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.â (TM)

--Michael Crick, broadcaster and writer

â ~Before Margaret Thatcher, before Barbara Castle, there was Katharine Stewart-Murray, the â ~Red Duchessâ (TM) of Atholl and one of the great female pioneers of UK politics. Amy Grayâ (TM)s deeply-researched biography compellingly reconstructs her moral clarity, her unequivocal human rights campaigns against the â oetwin 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.â (TM)

--Dr Kate Maltby, critic and columnist

â ~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.â (TM)

--Peter Cardwell, presenter on TALK and Times Radio, former special adviser to four Cabinet ministers and author of The Secret Life of Special Advisers and Political Animals

â ~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.â (TM)

--Dr Mari Takayanagi, co-author of Necessary Women: The Untold Story of Parliament's Working Women

â ~What an extraordinary person and what an extraordinary book. Riveting.â (TM)

--Danny Finkelstein, author and columnist

â ~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.â (TM)

--Professor John Bew, author of Citizen Clem

'A strangely captivating portrait of an unexpected pioneer.

--Andrew Gimson "Conservative Home"

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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.