“Distinguished Irishwomen in London”: The Promotion of Professional Networks in Charlotte O'Conor Eccles' Journalism and Fiction

Abstract

ABSTRACT Throughout much of her career, Irish journalist Charlotte O’Conor Eccles (1863–1911) promoted other Irish women and supported better rights for working women. Along with this support was Eccles’ belief that women should join social clubs and networks in order to excel in their own careers. Using both archival research and analysis of her journalism, this paper traces Eccles’ involvement in nineteenth-century networks as she moved between Ireland and England. Eccles’ participation in groups like the Literary Ladies’ Dinner and the Writers’ Club gave her access to various professional women, international and Irish, and influenced her writing, as indicated in this paper, in both her journalism and fiction. Furthermore, Eccles’ comparison of private “at home” events or salons versus public social clubs in her novel The Matrimonial Lottery (1906), indicates her own feelings toward women’s access to and the importance of these valuable professional networks. Tracing these networks is essential to uncovering the intricate connections Irish women, like Eccles, created as they not only succeeded in their careers but supported each other.