Meryl Doney

Cathy Le Feuvre

the Battle Against the Victorian Sex Trade

Armstrong Girl : A Child for Sale

In 1885 Victorian England was scandalized by a court case that lifted the veil on prostitution and the sex trade. In the Old Bailey dock stood W.T. Stead, the editor of the Pall Mall Gazette, which had recently published a series of articles on the sex trade; Rebecca Jarrett, a reformed brothel keeper; and the second-in-command of The Salvation Army, Bramwell Booth. They were accused of abducting a thirteen-year-old girl, Eliza Armstrong, apparently buying her for the purpose of prostitution. In fact they had done this as a sensational exposé of the trade in young girls. The scandal triggered a massive petition and ultimately resulted in the raising of the British age of consent from thirteen to sixteen. Today human trafficking is once again making world headlines - as are recent calls to lower the age of consent. Eliza's story is a thrilling account of what can be achieved by those brave enough to believe that change is not only possible but has to come.

A child for sale: the battle against the Victorial sex trade

The Armstrong Girl

Normal.dotm 0 0 1 133 762 Lion Hudson Plc 6 1 935 12.0 Normal 0 false 18 pt 18 pt 0 0 false false false /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} When William Booth met Catherine Mumford in 1852 it was the start of a love story that would change the lives of tens of thousands. Out of their love sprang a new and radical international Christian movement – The Salvation Army – which in 2015 celebrates its 150th anniversary. Throughout their life William and Catherine, when not together, wrote letters and notes expressing not only their deep love but also a lasting friendship and mutual respect which would survive the challenges of separation, ill health, the struggle of raising a large family, opposition, disappointment and professional uncertainty. In the letters Catherine and William exchanged almost from their first meeting in 1852 until Catherine’s death in 1890, are also the everyday minutiae of life in Victorian times, marriage, family, children and the challenges of being radical Christian thinkers in the second half of the 19th century.

Cathy Le Feuvre

About

Books

Join the club