Mary Chamberlain’s new novel, The Lie, exposes the truth about the stark choice faced by pregnant unmarried women before contraception was widely available. It’s all so different now, we think. But, she asks, will the rolling back of abortion rights in America revive the stigma of illegitimacy — and the practice of forced adoptions — […]
The Partisan, socialist cafe and creative centre
Mary Chamberlain writes about the Partisan Coffee House, the socialist cafe which, in its four-year existence, became a creative centre which transformed the political, intellectual and cultural scene in the 1960s. At a time when espresso bars were the rage, and a new, young clientele had cash to spare, the Partisan Coffee House opened its […]
Review: When the Germans Came by Duncan Barrett
The occupation of the British Channel Islands from June 1940 to May 1945 rarely features in the popular narrative of the Second World War nor has it, for the most part, captured the attention of writers, Mary Chamberlain tells Historia in her review of Duncan Barrett’s When the Germans Came, the paperback reprint of his 2018 account, Hitler’s British Isles.
Memories of Virago
Mary Chamberlain was the first author to be published by pioneering women’s press, Virago. As this week marks the 45th anniversary of the company’s founding, Mary remembers those early years. On 18 June 1973 Carmen Callil registered Virago Limited at Companies House. Its business? Book Publishing. Marsha Rowe and Rosie Boycott were listed as directors. […]