Not for Want of Trying
A podcast exploring the landmark cases, campaigns and legislation that have shaped women's rights in the UK and Ireland.
Episodes

40 minutes ago
40 minutes ago
24 min
In this episode, we explore the feminist and legal legacy of the women’s peace camp at Greenham common. We speak to Elizabeth Woodcraft – a feminist lawyer who represented many of the women at the Greenham peace camp during the 1980s – about the impact of Greenham and its ongoing importance for feminist campaigning and protests today.
You can find out more about women’s legal landmarks in the UK and Ireland in the Women’s Legal Landmarks books
https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/womens-legal-landmarks-9781782259794/
https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/womens-legal-landmarks-in-the-interwar-years-9781509969746/
Instagram: @womenslegallandmarks
Website: https://womenslegallandmarks.com/
Sponsored by Hart Publishing, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing @hart_publishing
Artwork: Alex Ciciric
Music credit: Goldfinch: Flight to the North, Axletree, Free Music Archive, CC BY 4.0 https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Axletree/erthe/goldfinch-flight-to-the-north/

Aug 19, 2026
Aug 19, 2026
22 min
The Well of Loneliness tells the story of Stephen Gordon – her upbringing as a boy, her travels to Paris and relationships with women. While it was a book beloved by many, it was banned shortly after its publication for being criminally obscene.
In this episode, we speak to Professor Caroline Derry about what this says about attitudes towards lesbianism in the 1920s, and what The Well of Loneliness and its author, Radclyffe Hall, can tell us about queer politics today.
You can find out more about women’s legal landmarks in the UK and Ireland in the Women’s Legal Landmarks books
https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/womens-legal-landmarks-9781782259794/
https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/womens-legal-landmarks-in-the-interwar-years-9781509969746/
Instagram: @womenslegallandmarks
Website: https://womenslegallandmarks.com/
Sponsored by Hart Publishing, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing @hart_publishing
Artwork: Alex Ciciric
Music credit: Goldfinch: Flight to the North, Axletree, Free Music Archive, CC BY 4.0 https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Axletree/erthe/goldfinch-flight-to-the-north/

Aug 12, 2026
Aug 12, 2026
31 min
In this episode, we speak to Professor Fiona de Londras about the 'Repeal the 8th' campaign in Ireland, which led to the abolition of the constitutional ban on abortion. We’ll be asking what happened next, and its ongoing impact on reproductive autonomy and other social justice campaigns today.
You can find out more about women’s legal landmarks in the UK and Ireland in the Women’s Legal Landmarks books
https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/womens-legal-landmarks-9781782259794/
https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/womens-legal-landmarks-in-the-interwar-years-9781509969746/
Instagram: @womenslegallandmarks
Website: https://womenslegallandmarks.com/
Sponsored by Hart Publishing, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing @hart_publishing
Artwork: Alex Ciciric
Music credit: Goldfinch: Flight to the North, Axletree, Free Music Archive, CC BY 4.0 https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Axletree/erthe/goldfinch-flight-to-the-north/

Aug 5, 2026
Aug 5, 2026
19 min
In this episode, we speak to Professor Jonathan Herring about how a case decided at the turn of the 21st century sent a powerful message about fairness, equality, and gender discrimination when assets are divided on divorce.
You can find out more about women’s legal landmarks in the UK and Ireland in the Women’s Legal Landmarks books
https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/womens-legal-landmarks-9781782259794/
https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/womens-legal-landmarks-in-the-interwar-years-9781509969746/
Instagram: @womenslegallandmarks
Website: https://womenslegallandmarks.com/
Sponsored by Hart Publishing, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing @hart_publishing
Artwork: Alex Ciciric
Music credit: Goldfinch: Flight to the North, Axletree, Free Music Archive, CC BY 4.0 https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Axletree/erthe/goldfinch-flight-to-the-north/

Jul 29, 2026
Jul 29, 2026
32 min
In this episode, we speak to Anne Morris (Honorary Senior Research Fellow in the Law School at the University of Liverpool) about the Sex Discrimination Act 1975, and what can be achieved when campaigners and law-makers are united in the desire to produce social change.
You can find out more about women’s legal landmarks in the UK and Ireland in the Women’s Legal Landmarks books
https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/womens-legal-landmarks-9781782259794/
https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/womens-legal-landmarks-in-the-interwar-years-9781509969746/
Instagram: @womenslegallandmarks
Website: https://womenslegallandmarks.com/
Sponsored by Hart Publishing, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing @hart_publishing
Artwork: Alex Ciciric
Music credit: Goldfinch: Flight to the North, Axletree, Free Music Archive, CC BY 4.0 https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Axletree/erthe/goldfinch-flight-to-the-north/

Jul 22, 2026
Jul 22, 2026
18 min
In this episode, we speak to Professor Rosemary Auchmuty about why conveyancing and home ownership is such a critical part of women’s liberation, and how these issues were confronted in the courtroom.
You can find out more about women’s legal landmarks in the UK and Ireland in the Women’s Legal Landmarks books
https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/womens-legal-landmarks-9781782259794/
https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/womens-legal-landmarks-in-the-interwar-years-9781509969746/
Instagram: @womenslegallandmarks
Website: https://womenslegallandmarks.com/
Sponsored by Hart Publishing, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing @hart_publishing
Artwork: Alex Ciciric
Music credit: Goldfinch: Flight to the North, Axletree, Free Music Archive, CC BY 4.0 https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Axletree/erthe/goldfinch-flight-to-the-north/

Jul 15, 2026
Jul 15, 2026
42 min
In this episode, we speak to Professor Katharine Cockin about how theatre - and especially one suffrage play - served both as a powerful tool of feminist activism and as a lasting record of feminist history.
You can find out more about women’s legal landmarks in the UK and Ireland in the Women’s Legal Landmarks books
https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/womens-legal-landmarks-9781782259794/
https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/womens-legal-landmarks-in-the-interwar-years-9781509969746/
Instagram: @womenslegallandmarks
Website: https://womenslegallandmarks.com/
Sponsored by Hart Publishing, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing @hart_publishing
Artwork: Alex Ciciric
Music credit: Goldfinch: Flight to the North, Axletree, Free Music Archive, CC BY 4.0 https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Axletree/erthe/goldfinch-flight-to-the-north/

Jul 8, 2026
Jul 8, 2026
25 min
In this episode, we speak to Andy Hayward - Professor of Law at Durham University about the importance of the Married Women’s Property Act 1882, and the ways in which marriage constrained women legally, socially and civilly.
You can find out more about women’s legal landmarks in the UK and Ireland in the Women’s Legal Landmarks books
https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/womens-legal-landmarks-9781782259794/
https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/womens-legal-landmarks-in-the-interwar-years-9781509969746/
Instagram: @womenslegallandmarks
Website: https://womenslegallandmarks.com/
Sponsored by Hart Publishing, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing @hart_publishing
Artwork: Alex Ciciric
Music credit: Goldfinch: Flight to the North, Axletree, Free Music Archive, CC BY 4.0 https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Axletree/erthe/goldfinch-flight-to-the-north/

Jul 1, 2026
Jul 1, 2026
19 min
In this episode, we speak to Professor Joanne Conaghan about the power of information, and of how an 18-page pamphlet written by a 27 year old from the small village of Robertsbridge in Sussex led to a revolution in women’s legal rights.
You can find out more about women’s legal landmarks in the UK and Ireland in the Women’s Legal Landmarks books
https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/womens-legal-landmarks-9781782259794/
https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/womens-legal-landmarks-in-the-interwar-years-9781509969746/
Instagram: @womenslegallandmarks
Website: https://womenslegallandmarks.com/
Sponsored by Hart Publishing, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing @hart_publishing
Artwork: Alex Ciciric
Music credit: Goldfinch: Flight to the North, Axletree, Free Music Archive, CC BY 4.0 https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Axletree/erthe/goldfinch-flight-to-the-north/

Jun 24, 2026
Jun 24, 2026
27 min
In this episode, we speak to Alison Diduck – Professor of Law at University College London – about the founding of the first rape crisis centre and how the commitment of the original London Rape Crisis Collective continues to inspire today.
You can find out more about women’s legal landmarks in the UK and Ireland in the Women’s Legal Landmarks books
https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/womens-legal-landmarks-9781782259794/
https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/womens-legal-landmarks-in-the-interwar-years-9781509969746/
Instagram: @womenslegallandmarks
Website: https://womenslegallandmarks.com/
Sponsored by Hart Publishing, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing @hart_publishing
Artwork: Alex Ciciric
Music credit: Goldfinch: Flight to the North, Axletree, Free Music Archive, CC BY 4.0 https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Axletree/erthe/goldfinch-flight-to-the-north/
Additional music credit: We are very grateful to Lorraine Segato of The Parachute Club for granting us permission to use a clip from the song Rise Up.

Not for Want of Trying
What are the key legal landmarks for women? What role did women and feminists play in bringing them about? And what impact are they having on women today?
What do women’s toilets, botched building work, and Queen Victoria have in common? They’re all featured on our new podcast series – 'Not for Want of Trying'. A history podcast that uncovers key events in women’s legal history during the Interwar period.
Erika Rackley and Sharon Thompson talk to leading historians and lawyers to find out the answer to these questions and more!
Find out more by visiting our website: www.womenslegallandmarks.com






