A NEWPORT author has published a book delving into the "unexamined and undervalued" side of the Chartist movement of the 19th Century - the role of women.
Sylvia Mason's new book Mary Frost - Wife, Mother, Chartist was published this year, with the official launch at Newport's Riverfront on International Women’s Day.
Mary Frost was the wife of the now widely-know John Frost.
However, like the hundreds of women in Newport who supported the Chartist cause, little is known about her.
"We now know very few of their names," Mrs Mason said.
"While describing what we know of these forgotten women, the book concentrates mainly on the lives of the women of the Frost family, especially John Frost’s wife, Mary."
Mary Frost was, Mrs Mason says, a "quiet modest woman, a woman who kept herself in the background".
"She was described as a lady by birth, education and fortune," she said.
"But it was her qualities of strength and resilience which were essential for her to survive all the devastating events which lay before her.
"Until now, her life, like that of so many women, remained a sub-plot; unexamined and undervalued."
Mrs Mason, who will also be giving a talk on the subject of women in Chartism at the Chartist Convention this weekend, said that her book was "not written for scholars".
"It is in a conversational style for the general reader," she said.
"My aim is show today’s women and girls that women were there and active in this important moment of Newport’s history."
Dr Melinda Drowley of Our Chartist Heritage said: "One of the challenges of writing about the 1839 Newport Rising is the necessity of contending with what David Jones described in 1986 as the “secret and baffling nature of the evidence”.
"Sylvia has bravely taken on an additional challenge by focussing on the hidden and largely undocumented life of one of the women situated at the centre of a story that is normally populated exclusively by male protagonists."
Jayne Bryant, MS for Newport West, said: "Sylvia has brought to life Mary Frost and the struggles she faced as part of the Chartist movement.
"She has opened the door on the family life of Mary and her children and the challenges she had to navigate.
"Sylvia has given Mary Frost her voice."
To enquire about acquiring a copy of Mary Frost - Wife, Mother, Chartist, you can email Mrs Mason at sylviamason1@me.com
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