Spinning Like a Peerie

This is a biographical study of one of the most remarkable women in early 20th-century France - Madeleine Pelletier. Her career as a practising doctor, psychiatrist and birth-control advocate also encompassed a commitment to the socialist and feminist cause. Throughout her life she challenged the values of male-dominated society, in the areas of politics, anthropology, psychiatry, sexuality and contraception. A prolific writer and pamphleteer, Pelletier corresponded with most of the leading feminists and socialists of her day, making frequent visits to international feminist conferences including post-revolutionary Russia. This biography focuses on her rise within the French Socialist party, on her efforts to make women's suffrage a socialist priority, and on the circle of feminists within whom she worked and corresponded. Gordon's research has uncovered much hitherto unstudied material, including an unpublished memoir, many letters and police records. The result is a portrait of a woman whose life and feminist analysis anticipates that of late 20th-century feminists.