author
Viscountess Nancy Witcher Langhorne Astor Astor
1879–1964
A sharp-tongued political trailblazer, she became the first woman to take her seat in the British House of Commons and remained one of the best-known figures in public life for decades. Her story mixes glamour, conviction, controversy, and a very real place in parliamentary history.
1 Audiobook
My Two Countries
by Viscountess Nancy Witcher Langhorne Astor Astor
About the author
Born in Danville, Virginia, in 1879, Nancy Astor was raised in the United States before moving to England after her first marriage ended. In 1906 she married Waldorf Astor, and through that marriage entered the social and political world that would shape the rest of her life.
In 1919, after her husband moved to the House of Lords, she successfully stood for his former seat at Plymouth Sutton. That made her the first woman to sit in the House of Commons, where she served as an MP until 1945. She became famous for her energy, quick wit, and forceful presence, and she took a strong interest in issues affecting women, children, education, and social reform.
Astor remains a memorable but complicated figure. She was celebrated as a pioneer for women in politics, yet her public life also drew criticism and controversy, especially around some of her political views and alliances in the interwar years. She died in 1964, but her place in British political history is still widely discussed.