Susannah Wright

Susannah Wright (née Godber; 1792 – unknown) was an English woman imprisoned on charges of Blasphemous libel for selling works from the shop of radical publisher Richard Carlile.[1] In total, Wright served two years in Newgate and Coldbath Fields prisons, gaining a level of notoriety as the "She-Champion of Impiety".[1]

Susannah Wright
Born
Susannah Godber

1792
Nottingham
DiedUnknown
Criminal chargesCharged with blasphemous libel
Criminal penaltyImprisoned in Newgate Prison and Coldbath Fields Prison
SpouseWilliam Wright (m. 1815)
Cover of the Report of the Trial of Mrs. Susannah Wright, published by Richard Carlile, 1822

Life

Susannah Godber was born in Nottingham in 1792, and made her living as a lace worker.[2] By 1815, she was living in London, where she married William Wright on 25 December.[3][4] Before her arrest in July 1821, Wright was already active in radical politics, publishing a number of inflammatory works with her husband, in his name, and associating with a wide circle of radicals.[1]

When Richard Carlile, his wife Jane, and subsequently his sister Mary-Ann, were imprisoned for selling blasphemous works from his shop, Susannah Wright took over its management. Arrested and acquitted once, she was prosecuted successfully following her second arrest, and joined the Carliles in Dorchester prison.[1]

Wright appeared in court on 8 July 1822, where she conducted her own defence. Despite a lengthy and carefully prepared speech, Wright was ordered to spend (along with her infant child) an initial ten weeks in Newgate jail. Newspapers castigated her as 'wretched and shameless', accusing Wright of having 'shunned all the distinctive shame and fear and decency of her sex'.[1] At sentencing, on 6 February 1823, the Judge ordered Wright to 18 months in Coldbath Fields prison, Clerkenwell.[1]

Carlile published a report of Wright's trial from Dorchester Prison, dedicating it:

To the Women of the Island of Great Britain; this Specimen of Female Patriotism, Love of Liberty, Bold and Honest Daring, to Tyrants and Hypocrisy, and Virtuous Disinterestedness for All but Virtue, and Human Amelioration; For their example, consideration, approbation, and remuneration, is respectfully inscribed by the advocate of their emancipation from these worst of slaveries, ignorance and idolatry, R. Carlile.[5]

Susannah Wright was released from Coldbath Fields in July 1824, having lost the sight in one of her eyes, and with various other ailments. William Wright died eighteen months later. In 1826, she established her own radical bookshop in her native Nottingham, 'trading in politically extreme and heretical publications'.[1]

Wright also "made strong demands for educational rights for women and full participation in the cultural benefits society could offer", writing in the radical newspaper The Republican.[6] [7]

Legacy

In a biography of her father, Theophila Carlile Campbell described Susannah Wright as a "plucky little woman" to whom Richard Carlile "paid... the highest tribute for her enthusiasm, perseverance, coolness, and dauntlessness."[8]

In a letter printed in the work, Carlile wrote that "there is scarce another woman in England who would have done for me what that woman has done, and from my knowledge of her in 1817-1819, I know that a love of principle has been her ruling motive."[8]

Wright's date of death is unknown.[1]

References
  1. Parolin, Christina. (2010). Radical spaces : venues of popular politics in London, 1790-1845. Acton, A.C.T.: ANU E Press. ISBN 978-1-921862-01-4. OCLC 678455704.
  2. "Christopher Richardson". LeftLion. Retrieved 2020-09-22.
  3. "World Press Freedom Day: The pregnant woman jailed for publishing 'blasphemous' books". University of London. Retrieved 2020-09-22.
  4. Godber, Susannah (25 December 1815). "Surrey Marriages: Parish Register Transcripts".
  5. Report of the trial of Mrs. Susannah Wright: for publishing, in his shop, the writings and correspondences of R. Carlile, before Chief Justice Abbott, and a special jury, in the Court of King's Bench, Guildhall, London, on Monday, July 8, 1822. Indictment at the instance of the Society for the Suppression of Vice. 55 Fleet Street, London: R. Carlile. 1822. hdl:2027/hvd.hxjik5.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  6. Thomis, Malcolm I.; Grimmett, Jennifer (1982). Women in Protest, 1800-1850. New York: St. Martin's Press. p. 104.
  7. Rendall, Jane (1984). The origins of modern feminism : women in Britain, France, and the United States, 1780-1860. New York: Schocken Books. p. 236.
  8. Campbell, Theophila Carlile (1899). The battle of the press, as told in the story of the life of Richard Carlile. London: Bonner & Co. pp. 254–256.
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