Read Annie Besant's 1888 magazine article called "The 'White Slavery' of London Match Workers" (found on pages 649-51 in Volume E of the anthology). The next item in the text is a letter written by Ada Nield Chew, also on the subject of working conditions for women.

The Besant essay is included in the quiz on Acts 1-2 of the George Bernard Shaw play.

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The resources in the rest of this page were collected in a student blog called "Project Literature." The 25-minute video at the bottom is great introduction to women's issues and factory labor conditions in the late 19th Century. Link to the complete blog post here.

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The “White Slavery” of London Match Workers by Annie Besant.

05 Thursday Feb 2015. Posted by Adil Cahit Ansaroglu

Annie Besant was a British social reformer, campaigner for women’s rights. She was passionate about the rights of women and about the working conditions of women.

This article was published in 1888 and focuses on the denunciation of the poor working conditions and unimportance of the working class in [the] Victorian Age. Similar to Charles Dickens’ Hard Times, this article focuses on the poor working conditions and low wages that are paid to [women] by the factory owners. . . .

. . . Annie Besant attacks Theodore Bryant, the director of Bryant & May match factory, in her article in terms of his decision of deducting wages of the workers in order for him to erect a statue of an eminent statesman who was called William Ewart Gladstone, leader of the liberal party and prime minister four times of England.

You can see a short clip about Annie Besant from the following;

Works Cited

Annie Besant in Black. Digital image. Wikimedia Summons. N.p., 1890. Web. 05 Feb. 2015. <http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Annie_Besant_in_black_standing.jpg>.

The Link 23 June 1888. Digital image. Wikimedia Summons. N.p., 1888. Web. 05 Feb. 2015. <http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Link_23_June_1888.JPG>.

Scothern, Damon. “Theosophy UK Annie Besant Story.wmv.”Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 06 Apr. 2012. Web. 05 Feb. 2015. <Theosophy UK Annie Besant Story.wmv;.