Helen Macfarlane

Helen Macfarlane was a journalist, socialist and feminist of nineteenth century Britain. Very little seems to be known for sure about her early and later life. According to David Black Macfarlane was most likely born in Scotland sometime after 1816 and probably grew up there. [Black, p. 43.]

It seems probable that Helen Macfarlane was an adult in 1848 because she claims to have witnessed the Revolution in Vienna against the Habsburg Monarchy that year in an article for the "Democratic Review". [Black, p. 44. ] Black cites her presence in Vienna and her knowledge of German as an indicator of her middle class status, as middle class girls were more likely to be taught languages in preparation for careers as governesses. [Black, p. 44.]

Helen Macfarlane wrote for the "Democratic Review" under her own name in the April, May and June 1850 issues. Then, in the June 22 1850 issue of "The Red Republican" a debut article by Howard Morton appears. After this date, Macfarlane's name no longer appears credited in "The Democratic Review" but that of Morton does. [Black, p. 41-42.] Black and others believe that Howard Morton was a nom de plume for Helen Macfarlane, who like her contemporary, George Eliot, probably found it easier to gain respect and readers by using a male name. [Black, p. 41.] In "The Chartist Challenge A Portrait of George Julian Harney" A. R. Schoyen says, "That a real Howard Morton existed seems highly questionable." [Schoyen, p. 203.]

Helen Macfarlane also translated Marx's "The Communist Manifesto" for "The Red Republican" in 1850 which possibly makes her the first English translator of the work. [Black, p. clarifyme]

The last public sighting of Helen Macfarlane was at a banquet hosted by George Julian Harney, the founder of "The Red Republican" on New Year's Eve, 1850. Black, p. 119.] She apparently had a falling out with him on this occasion. After this date her name and that of Morton are not seen in publications, nor is the name Helen Macfarlane found on any subsequent census records. What happened to her remains a mystery. Black points out that she could merely have married, which would account for her name no longer appearing on the census records.

Literature

*Black, David. "Helen Macfarlane A Feminist, Revolutionary Journalist, and Philosopher in Mid-Nineteenth-Century England". Lexington Books, Oxford (2004).
*Schoyen, A.R. "The Chartist Challenge A Portrait of George Julian Harney". Heinemann: London. (1958).]

References