Critical focus on the novelists of the New Woman movement has brought Gertrude Dix to scholarly attention for reconsideration. This new interest has been hindered, however, by the scarcity of information not only about the details of her life but also about its most basic facts. All who have recently written about Dix cite Samson Bryher's record (circa 1931) of Bristol's socialist movement from 1888 to 1900 that mentions Dix as one of "Two others worthy of special mention"; Bryher identifies her simply as "Miss Gertrude Dix (the authoress of The Image Breakers, and The Girl from the Farm)." Although Bryher's history is primarily devoted to male socialists, he also provides detailed entries on and photographs of women; one may assume, then, that his sparse account of Dix indicates no general dismissal of female participation. Researchers have assumed this sole citation to be the only extant information about Dix.

An 1893 article...