Christabel was not keen on the idea, Emmeline persevered with her plan,
writing to Mabel Tuke, one-time WSPU Honorary Secretary, who was not only
enthusiastic but also suggested that they open a tea-shop on the French Riviera
where tourists and expatriates would be plentiful. Mabel’s enthusiasm, which
was backed up by an offer to put up most of the capital, seems to have won over
the reluctant Christabel. Before Emmeline’s scant savings could be invested in
such an enterprise, however, she had to reappraise her situation and, in partic-
ular, the cost of running her large household. She could no longer afford to
employ a nurse and a governess, nor support three children. Reluctantly, she
decided that Kathleen and Joan would have to be sent back to England, and
arranged, through friends, for the girls to be adopted by well-to-do people (this
was a time when adoption procedures were very lax) who could give them the
chances in life she could not. It was a difficult decision to make, but Emmeline
made it, reasoning that it was kinder to make the break with the girls now than
to wait until they were older. However, she did not part with the fiery, red-
headed Mary who was not only her favourite child but had also been left a small
legacy, in trust, by a Mrs. Home, possibly her mother. Elizabeth, of course,
stayed with Christabel.
It must have been hard for the children to part, especially so for Mary and
Kathleen who were close friends, and for Emmeline to part with the children.
Emmeline was unsure how to convey the news and eventually decided to tell
the ten-year-old Kathleen, the eldest, who was given the responsibility of
looking after Joan during the journey. ‘Mrs. Pankhurst told me one day’, recol-
lected Kathleen, ‘that we were going to see an aunt in England. So I was
scrubbed well as I had a sunburnt neck. I nearly took all the skin off myself
trying to get the sunburn out. We sailed on a ship in a first class cabin. That was
great. I was in charge of Joan.’ When they arrived in England, the two girls were
met by Emmeline’s sister, Ada Goulden Bach. After staying with her for a
couple of days, they went to the Tower Cressy orphanage and were eventually
adopted, Kathleen by John Coleridge Taylor, an Evening Standardjournalist, and
Joan by a wealthy couple in Scotland.
Shortly after the departure of the two girls, Emmeline, Christabel, Mary and
Elizabeth left for London and met up with Mabel Tuke. In the late summer of
1925, the group travelled to Paris where they stayed in Christabel’s flat. Mary
and Elizabeth in their smart Kate Greenaway clothes, with kid boots and floppy
hats, were greatly admired by the Parisians. Emmeline bought the children
roller skates and since she was frequently out, the ten-year-olds had a lot of
freedom, skating ‘all round the boulevards alone for hours and hours’, recol-
lected Mary. If she had known, Emmeline would have been horrified so the girls
were careful not to spill the beans. ‘[W]hen we came into Mother’s presence
again, we were like little angels.’^72 Emmeline did, however, enrol the girls in the
local libraries where they devoured the English classics. By mid August, the
household had moved to Nice since Emmeline wanted to find suitable premises,
possibly in Antibes, before the winter set in; the Paris apartment was sublet.
LECTURER IN NORTH AMERICA