Early Years

Born in Turton, Lancashire, United Kingdom, Isaacs’s early schooling was difficult for an intelligent child. At age 6 years, her mother died; at 15 years, her father removed her from school because she had converted to ‘atheistic socialism’. He refused to speak to her for 2 years, and Isaacs continued to self-educate and read voraciously into her early 20s.

At age 21 years, she enrolled in teacher-training (ages 5–7 years) at Manchester University), subsequently transferring to a degree course, and graduating in 1912 with a ‘first’ in Philosophy. A scholarship ...