Loading AI tools
German-British writer (1928–2006) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Silvia Rodgers, Baroness Rodgers of Quarry Bank, FRSL (née Szulman; 3 March 1928 – 8 October 2006), was a German-British writer and political activist. She was married to the politician Bill Rodgers, Baron Rodgers of Quarry Bank.
The Lady Rodgers of Quarry Bank | |
---|---|
Born | Silvia Szulman 3 March 1928 |
Died | 8 October 2006 78) | (aged
Occupation(s) | Political activist and hostess; writer; anthropologist; dentist; sculptor |
Notable work | Red Saint, Pink Daughter |
Rodgers was born in Wedding (Berlin) to working-class Jewish parents.[1] Her parents were members of the Communist Party of Germany.[2][3] Her mother insisted that Silvia not participate in the Nazi salute at school.[3] In an afterword to her memoir, Rodgers wrote "When I was ten and still in Berlin, I had that feeling that there was nothing I could not do".[4]
The family came to Britain in 1939.[5]
Silvia Szulman and Bill Rodgers married in 1955.[5] The couple had three daughters: Rachel, Lucy and Juliet.[1]
Rodgers influenced her husband's political career, particularly his decision to leave the Labour Party and set up the Social Democratic Party.[1] Bill Rodgers said that most of the child-rearing fell to Silvia and that he was neglectful; she also worked as a dentist when he was first in parliament as they were not well-off.[6] She was noted as a political hostess.[1][5] Rodgers described herself as feeling like an outsider, dislocated and marginal.[1][4]
Rodgers was a sculptor.[5]
Rodgers completed a PhD in anthropology at Oxford, on the subject of the rituals of ship-launching: The symbolism of ship launching in the Royal Navy (1983).[1]
She was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.[1]
Her writings include:
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.