Emily Faithfull was born in 1835 as the daughter of an Anglican clergyman from Surrey. Three decades later, she was already the owner of a printing house considered a model of typographic excellence, with her name appearing alongside a title bestowed by the monarch. However, the journey from well-bred pastor’s daughter to pioneering advocate for women’s right to professional work proved arduous and was marked by a scandal that nearly destroyed her reputation.
The Langham Place Salon
In the late 1850s, an informal circle of middle-class women emerged in London who were determined to change their subordinate social position. They met at 19 Langham Place, the editorial office of the English Woman’s Journal. Among them were Barbara Leigh Smith Bodichon, Bessie Rayner Parkes, Jessie Boucherett, and Emily Davies. They shared the belief that legal reforms, access to education, and the ability to earn a living were the three pillars of true emancipation.
Emily Faithfull joined the group shortly after her presentation at court in 1857. The young woman quickly found her place in the movement, focusing on employment issues. In 1859, she became secretary of the newly founded Society for Promoting the Employment of Women. This role gave her firsthand insight into the realities of the labor market and the scale of the challenges faced by women seeking financial independence.
Victorian England offered women from respectable families only a few accepted professions, mainly as governesses or teachers. Physical labor was seen as degrading, and most crafts were closed to women.
Faithfull realized that mere advocacy wasn’t enough. A concrete demonstration was needed to prove that women could perform work previously reserved for men just as well, if not better.
The Victoria Press Printing House
In 1860, Emily Faithfull founded a printing house in London named Victoria Press. It was her answer to a question she had long pondered: which professions could be opened to women without violating Victorian conventions? Typesetting required precision and patience, not physical strength, making it an ideal field for experimentation. Faithfull employed women as compositors, leaving only the operation of the heavy presses to men.
The idea was not entirely original. Bessie Rayner Parkes had previously become interested in printing and introduced Emily to its basics through Austin Holyoake. This practical training confirmed for Faithfull that typesetting was an excellent occupation for women. Victoria Press began publishing the English Woman’s Journal as well as material for the Society for the Promotion of Social Science. The high quality of its publications quickly earned recognition in the industry.
In 1862, Faithfull was awarded the title Printer and Publisher in Ordinary to Her Majesty. This was a symbolic culmination of two years of effort and proof that the enterprise had succeeded.
Victoria Press operated for two decades, publishing, among others, thirty-five volumes of Victoria Magazine, a periodical advocating women’s right to paid work. The success of the press inspired subsequent generations of activists.
Scandal and the Price of Independence
The year 1864 brought events that shook Emily Faithfull’s standing within the reformist community. Admiral Henry Codrington filed for divorce from his wife Helen, and during the proceedings, accusations arose of an attempted assault against Faithfull. The charges were eventually withdrawn, but rumors took on a life of their own. It was suggested that Emily and Helen shared an intimate relationship—a taboo subject in Victorian England.
Faithfull refused to testify, which paradoxically fueled more speculation. The Langham Place Group, previously her natural milieu, began to distance itself from her. For a movement fighting for social respect, any association with a morality scandal was seen as too risky. Emily suddenly found herself on the margins of a community she had helped build.
Faithfull’s response to the crisis was radical. She destroyed almost all her private correspondence, including letters from family, to leave no material for gossips or future biographers. What remains are mainly her professional publications and a few preserved press clippings. This gesture attests to the depth of the blow that the scandal dealt her, but also to her determination to protect her loved ones from the affair’s consequences.
Despite the personal cost, Emily continued her publishing and lecturing work until her death in 1895.
Margot Cleverly
Margot's journey into women's history began with a box of forgotten letters in a Cambridge archive – suffragettes whose voices had been silenced for over a century. Since then, she's been on a mission to uncover the stories history overlooked.
What she writes about: Queens who ruled from the shadows. Scientists whose male colleagues took credit. Revolutionaries who risked everything. But also ordinary women – those who survived wars, raised families through upheaval, and shaped their communities in ways no one bothered to record.
Margot turns historical figures into real people. She writes with warmth and detail, making centuries-old stories feel surprisingly relevant. Rigorous research meets accessible storytelling – no dusty academic jargon, just compelling narratives backed by solid facts.
When she's not writing, you'll find her in regional archives, collecting oral histories, or visiting sites connected to the women she writes about.