Alice Le Geyt

Alice Bell Le Geyt (1839–1934) was a British writer, suffragist and temperance campaigner.

Le Geyt was born on Jersey in 1839. Her parents were Charles William Le Geyt and Emma Bell, and her grandfather was the Scottish surgeon Charles Bell.

Le Geyt published a single three-volume novel, Which will triumph?, in 1867.

In 1871, Le Geyt became secretary of the newly-formed Bath committee of the Bristol and West Society of the National Society for Women's Suffrage.

When Anna Kingsford became editor of the Lady's Own Paper for a few weeks in 1872, the first article to be published was by Le Geyt with the title "Coffee-Houses or Gin-Palaces". She wrote that she hoped to open a coffee-house herself, to "counter the evils of strong drink", and invited donations to support this, to be sent to her at her home: The Cottage, Corston, near Bristol. In October 1872, she opened a "model beerless public house", in Corston, called the Golden Coffee Pot. It was reported in Chicago's Religio-Philosophical Journal in 1879 that "it has been successfull in substituting coffee for beer among the poor, and upon Miss Le Geyt's recent departure from the place, many leading citizens presented her with a silver inkstand, in token of her efforts among them.

Selected publications (Reprinted in 2007 by Kessinger publishing, ) Full text of volumes 1 and 3 available online