Letters from England, 1895

The twelve months of 1895 in which these Letters from England were written marked an important moment for the authors, Eleanor Marx Aveling and Edward Aveling, two of the best-known socialists in Britain who also enjoyed international reputations.

The struggle against unemployment, the demise of the Liberal government that had failed to keep its promises to labour, the subsequent election of a Conservative led Unionist administration, an underwhelming performance by socialists in the general election, and the death of mentor Frederick Engels, all impacted on the couple who were busy building up a socialist political force based on the 'scientific' theories of Eleanor's father and his collaborator, Engels. That many of these issues surface in Letters from England will make it of interest to students of the history of British socialism as it entered its crucial phase leading to the establishment of the Labour party in 1900.

The Letters also include the authors views on Oscar Wilde, the 'New Woman' novelists, and other contemporary fiction that will be fascinating to those studying Britain's cultural scene at the fin de siècle.

The Letters are prefaced by an introductory essay which throws new light on aspects of the authors life and work together. A further introductory note reveals the political connections and many friendships that Karl Marx, Engels and the authors had with prominent Russian revolutionaries as a way of exploring why these Letters appeared in Russkoye bogastsvo in 1895, just as that journal was publishing a series of articles fiercely attacking Russian Marxism.