Archibald Little

Alicia Little or Mrs Archibald Little (1845 – 31 July 1926) was a British writer and a campaigner for women's rights and later against foot binding in China.

Life

Little was born as Alicia Ellen Neve Bewicke in the Madeira islands of Portugal in 1845 to Calverley and Amelia Jane Bewicke. Her parents owned Hallaton Hall in Leicestershire but she was brought up in Madeira. She returned to England and successfully published her first tranche of books. She travelled abroad but she was based in England until 1886.

She campaigned in 1885 when she published a novel called Mother Darling, which highlighted the poor status of women's rights in British marital law. At the time a man might not only exclude an estranged wife not only from "his" property but also access to their children. This was alleviated by the Married Women's Property Act 1893.

She married Archibald John Little and called herself "Mrs Archibald Little" in 1887. They went to live in Chongqing where she was seen as an oddity. Women did not go out in public as she wanted to so she had to spend time challenging expectations. The couple had been refused permission to build a holiday home by a magistrate who feared a public backlash. The magistrate arranged for them to stay at a farm in the hills near the Yangtze River as they avoided the summer heat at their home in Chongqing. Whilst they were there they were robbed and Little explains how she had to cope without a mirror, tablecloths and the time - as their watches had been stolen. Both of them travelled around China, although Little had to dress as a male to avoid attracting attention, which had on occasion resulted in items being thrown.