Ethel Carnie Holdsworth in Blackley

'In Memory of

ETHEL HOLDSWORTH

DIED 28^TH DEC 1962
AGED 78 YEARS.'

 

The tiny gravestone of prominent working-class writer Ethel Carnie Holdsworth (1886–1962) stands in Blackley Cemetery. Born in Oswaldtwistle, Holdsworth began by writing poetry when working as a winder in a cotton mill. She was the daughter of a strong SDF member, and she became a staunch feminist and socialist. She came to the attention of Robert Blatchford, who briefly employed her in London as writer and editor for Woman Worker. This was in the second half of 1909, although the reason for her dismissal – possibly her perceived political extremism – is unknown.

 

Holdsworth began writing novels in her thirties, and is perhaps most noted for Miss Nobody (1913) and This Slavery (1925).

 

Below are links to two of her novels:

 

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Ethel Carnie Holdsworth: Helen of Four Gates (1913)
Ethel Carnie Holdsworth: The Taming of Nan (1919)