Women and the Biographies of Nations: The Biographical Dictionary of Scottish Women

Abstract

While national biographical dictionaries aim to present a nation’s past, they are also very much creations of that nation’s present. The Biographical Dictionary of Scottish Women (The BDSW ), published in 2006, is no exception.1 The first edition was conceived at a time (2001) when Scotland had just recently reconvened its own parliament after a hiatus of nearly 300 years, gaining new powers of self-governance. In the wake of rising self-confidence in the country’s future, the writing of new national histories, as well as handbooks and companions, flourished. A revised and expanded volume, The New Biographical Dictionary of Scottish Women (The New BDSW ), was commissioned in late 2015, on the heels of the 2014 independence referendum. Moreover, it was compiled in the midst of the repercussions of the 2016 Brexit vote which may yet lead to the breakup of the United Kingdom, given that a majority in Scotland voted