Madge Dresser

Madge Judith Dresser FRHS FRSA is an English historian and academic, who was formerly an Associate Professor in History at the University of the West of England, and is currently Honorary Professor in the department of Historical Studies at the University of Bristol. ^[1] Her specialities are the history of slavery, national identity, women's history, and the position of religious and ethnic minorities in British society. Dresser has frequently made efforts to acknowledge the role of Edward Colston in Bristol's slave trade industry, and has researched links between British country houses and the slave trade. Dresser is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and the Royal Society of Arts.

Life

Dresser earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of California, a Master of Science at the London School of Economics, and a postgraduate diploma in radio, film and television from the University of Bristol. She earned her PhD at the University of the West of England. ^[2]

Dresser is an English historian and academic, who was formerly an Associate Professor in History at the University of the West of England, and is currently Honorary Professor in the department of Historical Studies at the University of Bristol. ^[1] Her specialities are the history of slavery, national identity, women's history, and the position of religious and ethnic minorities in British society. ^{[2] [3]} Dresser worked with Historic England and the National Trust to identify links between slavery and heritage properties in Britain, publishing Slavery and the British Country House with Andrew Hann in 2013. ^{[3] [4]}

Dresser is active in Journey to Justice, a Bristolian charity highlighting the history of social justice and marginalised voices. ^{[5] [6]}

Dresser has frequently made efforts to acknowledge the role of Edward Colston in Bristol's slave trade industry, ^[7] noting the "reluctance in some quarters" to mention it in relation to the statue of him. ^{[8] : 3} As such, she has been involved with the rewording process of the statue's plaque. ^[9]

Dresser is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and the Royal Society of Arts. ^{[10] [3]}

Published works

Title	Time of first publication	First edition publisher/publication	Unique identifier	Notes
Slavery Obscured: The Social History of the Slave Trade in an English Provincial Port	2001	Continuum	ISBN   0826448763
The Diary of Sarah Fox nee Champion, 1745–1802	2003	Bristol Record Society	ISBN   0901538256	Editor; written by Sarah Fox, extracted in 1872 by John Frank
Bristol: Ethnic Minorities and the City 1000-2001	2008	Phillimore Publishers	ISBN   9781860774775	with Peter Fleming
Women and the City: Bristol 1373-2000	2016	Redcliffe Press	ISBN   9781908326317	Editor

References

1. "Author: Madge Dresser". Apollo Magazine. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
2. "Madge Dresser Archive – Bristol Bus Boycott 1963" . Retrieved 23 April 2025.
3. "The Royal Oak Foundation: Dr. Madge Dresser". Charleston Library Society. 9 February 2022. Retrieved 23 April 2025.
4. "Slavery and the British Country House – Free download | Historic England". historicengland.org.uk. 31 July 2013. Retrieved 23 April 2025.
5. Mukherjee, Koel; Lorna Stephenson (11 October 2017). "A never-ending journey". The Bristol Cable. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
6. Neu, Alma (7 September 2017). "Interview: Dr Madge Dresser". Bristol 247. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
7. Dresser, Madge (18 June 2020). "What Colston's statue says about Victorian Bristol". Apollo Magazine. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
8. Dresser, Madge (2016). Slavery Obscured: The Social History of the Slave Trade in an English Provincial Port. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN   978-1-4742-9170-5 . Retrieved 28 June 2020.
9. Russell, Anna (22 June 2020). "How Statues in Britain Began to Fall". The New Yorker . Retrieved 28 June 2020.
10. "CANCELLED: RSA Bristol: In ConveRSAtion with Madge Dresser". RSA (Royal Society of Arts). 20 September 2017. Archived from the original on 27 October 2020.