THREAD: Scottish women who had impact in Europe. Born illegitimate in Oban, Victorian Rose Blaze de Bury moved to Paris, where she hosted a salon, wrote several novels, drafted an economic plan for Austria & helped set up a bank. She corresponded with Bismark. Jawdropping no? /1

Next, let's go to the EU era & Grace Campbell who went to court in Strasbourg in the 70s to have corporal punishment banned in UK schools. She won and Westminster had to legislate. What. A. Mama. https://vimeo.com/236910048  /2

Elizabeth Wiskemann gathered intelligence undercover in Switzerland during WWII. When the Allies refused to bomb Auschwitz she sent a coded msg she knew wd be intercepted & halted Hungarian Jewish deportations. Later she was Professor of International Relations at Edinburgh /3

Many courageous Scottish women got involved in the Spanish Civil War 1936 - 39. Scotland has a long tradition of banging anti-Fascist heroines. Rabbit hole alert: I wrote a thread about Spain here already Fill. Your. Boots.

https://twitter.com/sarasheridan/status/1174720680027402241
/4

We also have a long tradition of artists whose work takes them all over Europe. Notorious suffragette Ethel Moorhead trained under Czech legend Alfons Mucha. She was the 1st Scottish suffragette to be forcibly fed too. I love this mural of her - what a legend. /5

Scotland's links to Europe go back for centuries tho. Eleanora of Scotland (daughter of Joan Beaufort and James I) became Regent of Austria in the late 1450s. She translated many books about European history and altered them to include powerful WOMEN. /6

Charlotte Waldie became a pioneering travel writer during the Napoleonic era when a family trip to Brussels coincided with Waterloo! She also wrote novels. When she was widowed she took on her husband's controlling interest in a bank. Some quine - no boundaries there. /7

We mustn't forget the work done by female MEPs over the years. Janey Buchan, fierce anti-apartheid campaigner welcomed Mandela when he came to Brussels. She was pro CND & an early supporter of gay rights. Also, you know Winnie Ewing championed the Erasmus scheme, right? /8

I could go on all morning! But the glory of threads is that you can add your favourites. Please do... and yes I wrote a book including over 1200 stories of our amazing grandmothers. Walk this way https://uk.bookshop.org/books/where-are-the-women-a-guide-to-an-imagined-scotland/9781849172738?aid=3666/9 /9

I am heartbroken at brexit - so would all these women have been, I'm sure of it. On Valentine's Day 2017 I wrote a love letter to Europe. Here it is: https://www.thenational.scot/news/15089817.dear-europe-a-love-letter-from-scotland-on-valentines-day/ At the time the extreme brexit we've now got seemed unlikely. #WeDidntVoteForThis Scotland. /10

These are my picks, but we aren't short of fabliss foremothers, sheroquines every one. I mean, the women of the Scottish Women's Hospitals were fearless from Elsie Inglis down. Here's one that someone suggested: /11 https://twitter.com/LeithWhisky/status/1342941157777698822

And here's an earlier painter feted across Europe. https://twitter.com/philipkingscott/status/1342999595496960003

And yes, Where are the Women is coming out in paperback next year (I just saw the paperback cover, which is pretty exciting) The only place that has preorders open is amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Where-are-Women-Imagined-Scotland/dp/1849173087/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=where+are+the+women+by+sara+sheridan&qid=1609055316&sr=8-1

I'm going to stop now, but please remember Europe is part of our history and Scotland is part of European history too. Already EU leaders have intimated that the door is open for our return. We just need the courage to walk through. #ScotlandIsEuropean /ends