Dora Marsden, founder of The Egoist, was born in 1882 into a poor family of five children. Raised by a single mother who worked as seamstress, Marsden realized the need for women’s economic independence early in life. A teacher from 1903 until 1908, Marsden was active in social and political groups for women and committed her time and energy to the suffrage movement. Marsden initially founded the magazine as an outlet for the suffrage movement, but, with the title change to The Egoist, began to focus on the importance of the individual. She edited the magazine until June, 1914, and continued to write for the magazine in her typical philosophical manner. Later in life, Marsden became mentally and physically sick, and was eventually diagnosed with psychotic depression. Marsden is remembered for her work with the suffragette, feminist, and individualist elements of modernism. (Permission pending for picture.)

Harriet Shaw Weaver, editor of The Egoist from mid-1914 until its end in December, 1919, was born into a wealthy, pious family in 1876. Even though she did not adopt their evangelical principles, she appreciated and modeled their “idealism and austerity” and grew up dedicating her time to social work. She began donating money to The Freewoman in 1912, and as editor, wrote several reviews and opening articles. “Overwhelmingly convinced of [James] Joyce’s genius,” Weaver became an avid supporter of the author and even converted The Egoist into a press when no one else agreed to publish Joyce's work as a book. After her work with The Egoist, Weaver joined the Labour Party in 1931 and then the Communist Party in 1938. Having dedicated her last years to Joyce’s literary career, Weaver died in her home in 1961. She can be remembered for “her gentle and modest personality and her avant-garde convictions” (Oxford DNB, 794).

Compiled by Emily K. Smith (Class of '06, Davidson College)