Absolutely loved this, Ann. That portrait says everything: strong jaw, large hands, and the eyes that see exactly who you are. The lace scarf. I have my own thoughts about that and do not want to hear otherwise. Side note: my husband was a university librarian and a woodworker. When the old oak card catalogs were being decommissioned, he took several of them home. He made ingenious pieces of furniture from them, using extra card drawers throughout the house. I don’t know what “pre-Raphaelite” sandals are, but I want a pair.
Ha, Mary, you have put your finger on my own vagueness about such footwear. I tried to imagine what Jane Morris and others might in paintings, but perhaps they were too flimsy. I sense Mary was pretty practical as well as bohemian! Will keep an eye out for details about that lace shawl... and I loved hearing about your husband's turning those drawers into much loved furniture. I am awed by his talents.
Thanks for the article on Paley Marshall - very interesting! Great that you will discuss von Arnim, The Enchanted April. The new edition of the book is edited by Isobel Maddison, Emeritus Fellow of Lucy Cavendish College and published by Oxford World’s Classics. It is worth getting this edition which has scholarly footnotes and a very readable and informative introduction. Might I mention that Isobel will co-teach a course on von Arnim for us at Literature Cambridge - EvA: Men, Women and Dogs, Oct-Dec. 2025. https://www.literaturecambridge.co.uk/von-arnim-2025
Thank you Trudi, and I will indeed recommend that edition - I know it well, and am in huge admiration of Isobel's work. Her intro really puts the novel into context. I'll definitely flag up that course too, love the theme of dogs in literature!
Fascinating post Anne. What heroes librarians can be. I have a special place for one of them in my personal reading history - probably worth a post of my own sometime. Thanks for the inspiration!
Thanks Liz! I would love to hear more about librarians who had a positive impact on your reading. I started a little chat thread about this too, and there are some really heartwarming and unexpected stories.
Lovely piece. I'm always intrigued by Mary's relationships with her husband, Alfred Marshall, and Maynard Keynes - who admired her enormously. Her husband, having championed women's education, then became a vociferous opponent. Keynes, having been a student of Alfred Marshall, then developed a very different kind of economics. I wonder what Mary thought about it ...
Thank you Emma and yes, it must have been very difficult for her at times. But she found a way of keeping her own academic integrity and belief in women's education intact despite Alfred's campaigning against women at Cambridge. I think her friendships with the women of the Dining Society helped enormously with that.
Thank you for this introduction to an interesting figure. I noticed from her Wikipedia page that her husband, Alfred Marshall, vacillated on the issue of women's participation at university, apparently believing "that they had nothing useful to say." I can only imagine the challenges, private and public, that Mary Paley Marshall must have undergone.
Exactly, James - you have expressed Mary Paley Marshall's dilemma so well - loyalty, respect and love for her husband, but also a calm, unshakeable conviction that women had an equal right to education.
It sounds as though Mary Paley Marshall was, among other things, a living card catalogue for those students! I hope the brown boxes are still consulted occasionally — they are so much more satisfying than digital catalogues which give you hundreds of near misses.
On punctuating names, I was taught either to use full stops between initials or spaces, but not *both*…
Thank you Jeremy & I will have to test out those brown boxes. How interesting about spaces between capitals. I haven't been a CUP editor for a while now, but just looked up the (current) Cambridge uni style guide and it's quite stern about it: 'Use spaces (not full stops) after initials. For example, write Dr M P S Handley.' Not that I feel the need to obey any more...
A footnote to this: I realise that long-term use of Twitter, and its character count, means that on social media at least I now don't use either spaces or stops for initials when taking about e.g. JH Prynne or TS Eliot (though I can't drop the stops from e.g.!)
Ah this is heartening to hear, Jeremy. I was worried that, from being a stickler and style guide fanatic in the past, I had gone too far in the opposite direction…
Well, as someone with an editorial background too, I like consistency, but I also like stylistic flexibility over prescriptive rules so... horses for courses!
Inspirational, as always. After reading through the comments, I feel like Mary would be a wonderful subject for a movie, especially considering she believed in and worked for women's education while in a relationship with someone who did not. I will have to add her to my research list! Thank you.
So pleased, Victoria. I like the way that Fry captures her fierce intelligence - but she was also very funny and irreverent. Guess she had to be, to survive her husband's lack of encouragement...
"Sitting at the library’s front desk, she would greet each student by their name and offer suggestions about the most useful books and articles to consult." What a dream job Mary Paley Marshall had. And how generous of her to take charge of keeping up the library and work there as a volunteer, definitely a labour of love for knowledge and books. She sounds like she was a remarkable woman. On a different note, I've read last week about the Brontës finally getting their name correctly and was surprised it's taken that long. Better late than never.
Thanks Cristina and it was certainly a labour of love on Mary’s part - she was passionate about sharing her subject with others and was remarkably dedicated. It was a surprise to me too to discover that about the Westminster Abbey memorial stone - perhaps the powers that be had resisted being told they’d got it wrong!
Congratulations on the Substack featured badge! What an accolade! Well done! Truly inspired by people who dedicate and volunteer their time and knowledge to help others. She's a truly amazing lady. Is there any book or something that she wrote herself?
Thank you! Mary Paley Marshall's memoir is lovely - What I Remember (1947). She leaves out anything negative about her husband, but he can't have been an easy man to be married to.
I think that says it all about her and him. Wow! Grand lady for not spilling the beans. But those days you had to keep an appearance I guess and be strong. Great title for a memoir.
What an inspirational profile! I love the way that she was looking to assist students in such a gracious & pragmatic manner. She certainly leaves a legacy that encourages a holistic support of students both academically and personally—a model well worth following today as young people still need this level of intentional investment & personalized attention, despite our technological advances in the research field.
Belated thanks for your insightful and generous comment, Alisa! I heartily agree, and it's very good to think that there are dedicated academics who value such things - like yourself.
Such a lovely post! I learn so much about these fascinating women from you, and what a wonderful portrait, clearly showing her intelligence and seriousness. I'm a big fan of Gwen Raverat, also Claire Leighton, their eye for detail and position led to terrific artworks.
The readers who had the benefit of Mary Paley Marshall’s guidance and recommendations — how fortunate, enriching and surely memorable! Thank you for such a lovely post about a remarkable woman!
Absolutely loved this, Ann. That portrait says everything: strong jaw, large hands, and the eyes that see exactly who you are. The lace scarf. I have my own thoughts about that and do not want to hear otherwise. Side note: my husband was a university librarian and a woodworker. When the old oak card catalogs were being decommissioned, he took several of them home. He made ingenious pieces of furniture from them, using extra card drawers throughout the house. I don’t know what “pre-Raphaelite” sandals are, but I want a pair.
Ha, Mary, you have put your finger on my own vagueness about such footwear. I tried to imagine what Jane Morris and others might in paintings, but perhaps they were too flimsy. I sense Mary was pretty practical as well as bohemian! Will keep an eye out for details about that lace shawl... and I loved hearing about your husband's turning those drawers into much loved furniture. I am awed by his talents.
Thanks for the article on Paley Marshall - very interesting! Great that you will discuss von Arnim, The Enchanted April. The new edition of the book is edited by Isobel Maddison, Emeritus Fellow of Lucy Cavendish College and published by Oxford World’s Classics. It is worth getting this edition which has scholarly footnotes and a very readable and informative introduction. Might I mention that Isobel will co-teach a course on von Arnim for us at Literature Cambridge - EvA: Men, Women and Dogs, Oct-Dec. 2025. https://www.literaturecambridge.co.uk/von-arnim-2025
Thank you Trudi, and I will indeed recommend that edition - I know it well, and am in huge admiration of Isobel's work. Her intro really puts the novel into context. I'll definitely flag up that course too, love the theme of dogs in literature!
What an amazing woman and role model
Thanks Caroline! She really was.
Fascinating post Anne. What heroes librarians can be. I have a special place for one of them in my personal reading history - probably worth a post of my own sometime. Thanks for the inspiration!
Thanks Liz! I would love to hear more about librarians who had a positive impact on your reading. I started a little chat thread about this too, and there are some really heartwarming and unexpected stories.
Lovely piece. I'm always intrigued by Mary's relationships with her husband, Alfred Marshall, and Maynard Keynes - who admired her enormously. Her husband, having championed women's education, then became a vociferous opponent. Keynes, having been a student of Alfred Marshall, then developed a very different kind of economics. I wonder what Mary thought about it ...
Thank you Emma and yes, it must have been very difficult for her at times. But she found a way of keeping her own academic integrity and belief in women's education intact despite Alfred's campaigning against women at Cambridge. I think her friendships with the women of the Dining Society helped enormously with that.
Thank you for this introduction to an interesting figure. I noticed from her Wikipedia page that her husband, Alfred Marshall, vacillated on the issue of women's participation at university, apparently believing "that they had nothing useful to say." I can only imagine the challenges, private and public, that Mary Paley Marshall must have undergone.
Exactly, James - you have expressed Mary Paley Marshall's dilemma so well - loyalty, respect and love for her husband, but also a calm, unshakeable conviction that women had an equal right to education.
It sounds as though Mary Paley Marshall was, among other things, a living card catalogue for those students! I hope the brown boxes are still consulted occasionally — they are so much more satisfying than digital catalogues which give you hundreds of near misses.
On punctuating names, I was taught either to use full stops between initials or spaces, but not *both*…
Thank you Jeremy & I will have to test out those brown boxes. How interesting about spaces between capitals. I haven't been a CUP editor for a while now, but just looked up the (current) Cambridge uni style guide and it's quite stern about it: 'Use spaces (not full stops) after initials. For example, write Dr M P S Handley.' Not that I feel the need to obey any more...
A footnote to this: I realise that long-term use of Twitter, and its character count, means that on social media at least I now don't use either spaces or stops for initials when taking about e.g. JH Prynne or TS Eliot (though I can't drop the stops from e.g.!)
Ah this is heartening to hear, Jeremy. I was worried that, from being a stickler and style guide fanatic in the past, I had gone too far in the opposite direction…
Well, as someone with an editorial background too, I like consistency, but I also like stylistic flexibility over prescriptive rules so... horses for courses!
Inspirational, as always. After reading through the comments, I feel like Mary would be a wonderful subject for a movie, especially considering she believed in and worked for women's education while in a relationship with someone who did not. I will have to add her to my research list! Thank you.
What lovely portraits-- both yours and Fry's. Thanks, Ann.
So pleased, Victoria. I like the way that Fry captures her fierce intelligence - but she was also very funny and irreverent. Guess she had to be, to survive her husband's lack of encouragement...
"Sitting at the library’s front desk, she would greet each student by their name and offer suggestions about the most useful books and articles to consult." What a dream job Mary Paley Marshall had. And how generous of her to take charge of keeping up the library and work there as a volunteer, definitely a labour of love for knowledge and books. She sounds like she was a remarkable woman. On a different note, I've read last week about the Brontës finally getting their name correctly and was surprised it's taken that long. Better late than never.
Thanks Cristina and it was certainly a labour of love on Mary’s part - she was passionate about sharing her subject with others and was remarkably dedicated. It was a surprise to me too to discover that about the Westminster Abbey memorial stone - perhaps the powers that be had resisted being told they’d got it wrong!
Congratulations on the Substack featured badge! What an accolade! Well done! Truly inspired by people who dedicate and volunteer their time and knowledge to help others. She's a truly amazing lady. Is there any book or something that she wrote herself?
Thank you! Mary Paley Marshall's memoir is lovely - What I Remember (1947). She leaves out anything negative about her husband, but he can't have been an easy man to be married to.
I think that says it all about her and him. Wow! Grand lady for not spilling the beans. But those days you had to keep an appearance I guess and be strong. Great title for a memoir.
What an inspirational profile! I love the way that she was looking to assist students in such a gracious & pragmatic manner. She certainly leaves a legacy that encourages a holistic support of students both academically and personally—a model well worth following today as young people still need this level of intentional investment & personalized attention, despite our technological advances in the research field.
Belated thanks for your insightful and generous comment, Alisa! I heartily agree, and it's very good to think that there are dedicated academics who value such things - like yourself.
Beautiful portrait by Fry!
Such a lovely post! I learn so much about these fascinating women from you, and what a wonderful portrait, clearly showing her intelligence and seriousness. I'm a big fan of Gwen Raverat, also Claire Leighton, their eye for detail and position led to terrific artworks.
Many thanks for your great comment, June. I do love that portrait too.
The readers who had the benefit of Mary Paley Marshall’s guidance and recommendations — how fortunate, enriching and surely memorable! Thank you for such a lovely post about a remarkable woman!
And too Enchanted April mention!
Many thanks for your lovely comment, James! I think she must have been an inspiring person to anyone lucky enough to meet her.
I had forgotten that libraries could be so specialized as to benefit from a librarian with true subject matter expertise. What a dream job!
Yes, I think it was a new concept really, blending academic knowledge with practical advice. Paley Marshall was ahead of her time!