Marianne Philips (1886-1951) was a politician and writer born into a prosperous Jewish family in Amsterdam. She was orphaned at a young age and had to take care of her stepsister and -brother by working in her stepfather’s sewing workshop. She was unable to finish her education but, nonetheless, remained studious and managed to work her way up quickly. In 1919, she was elected, as one of the first women ever, as a board member for the SDAP (Social Democratic Labor Party), heartily defending the position of workers’ wives and their children. She started publishing in 1929 and wrote five books and several novellas. Her work has also been translated.
