Sophie Adlersparre

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Sophie Adlersparre, who signed herself Esselde, was one of the pioneers in the Swedish women’s movement. Together with Rosalie Roos, she founded "Tidskrift för hemmet" (The Home Magazine) in 1859, and from 1868 she was its sole editor. In it she propounded the thesis that ”women need jobs and jobs need women”. In 1862 she founded Sunday schools and evening classes for the daughters of the working classes, and four years later she started the Stockholm Reading Salon, as a ”reading room for ladies”. Adlersparre was also active in the campaign for Sweden to join the Röda korset (Red Cross).

In 1855, Sophie Adlersparre became a member of the so-called Girls’ Schools Committee, the first municipal committee with women members. She cooperated in starting "Handarbetets vänner" (The Friends of Needlework) in 1874, and was one of those who drew up the guidelines for the Fredrika Bremer-förbundet (The Fredrika Bremer Association), founded in 1884. The aim was ”to act for a calm and sound development in the work for the elevation of women in moral and intellectual as well as social and economic respects”.

Tidskrift för hemmet (The Home Magazine) was closed down in 1885, after 27 years. After that, Adlersparre was the editor of Dagny, the organ for the Fredrika Bremer-förbundet (The Fredrika Bremer Association), in 1886-1888.

Further readings about Sophie Adlersparre
Benedictsson, Victoria,, Ernst Ahlgren och Esselde : en brefväxling / utgifen af Sigrid Leijonhufvud. - Stockholm, 1910.
Leijonhufvud, Sigrid, Sophie Adlersparre (Esselde) : ett liv och en livsgärning. - Stockholm, 1922-1923. - 2 vol.
Nordenstam, Anna, Begynnelser : litteraturforskningens pionjärkvinnor 1850-1930. - Göteborg, 2001. - Diss. - Abstract.

Writings by Sophie Adlersparre
Fredrika Bremer : biografisk studie af S. L-D Adlersparre och Sigrid Leijonhufvud. - Stockholm, 1896. - 2 vol.
Frågan om politiska rättigheter för qvinnan, sedd i samband med hennes rättsliga ställning i andra afseenden. : [Undert.: Esselde]. - Stockholm, 1884.
Några anmärkningar om historiens studium i våra flickskolor : med anledning af nyligen i bokhandeln utgifna "Historiska tabeller öfver medeltiden" och "Nyare tiden". - Ingår i: Tidskrift för hemmet, 1865:5, s. 322-324.
Om behofvet af utbildade sjuksköterskor för landsbygden. - Ingår i: Dagny, 1892:4, s. 105-110.
Om sedlighetsfrågans ståndpunkt i de skandinaviska länderna under år 1888 / af Esselde. - Norrköping, 1889.
Riksdagen och flickskolan. : [Undert. S.L-d.]. - Stockholm, 1885.
En öfverblick af arbetet på den svenska qvinnans framåtskridande. : Af Esselde. Med anledning af Fredrika Bremerförbundets sttiftande. - Ingår i: Tidskrift för hemmet, 1885:1, s. 4-24.