Matilda Roalfe
Matilda Roalfe was a British author, bookshop owner, and publisher. She was a friend of fellow feminist freethinker Emma Martin
Bookshop and Publishing Company
Roalfe moved from London to Edinburgh to run a bookshop, The Atheistical Depot, and publishing company Matilda Roalfe & Company, at 105 Nicolson Street. The previous owner of the shop had been imprisoned. Upon opening, she issued a circular proclaiming "I neither hope nor fear anything from authority, and am resolved to supply the public with works of a controversial and philosophical character, whether such works do or do not bring into contempt the Holy Scriptures and the Christian religion."Author
Together with Charles Southwell, she wrote I am a Christian.She wrote and published Law breaking justified, a 16-page booklet on the subject of blasphemy.
Together with Thomas Paterson and Thomas Finlay, she wrote "The Trial of Thomas Paterson, for Blasphemy, Before the High Court of Justiciary, Edinburgh, with the Whole of His Bold and Effective Defence. Also, the Trials of Thomas Finlay and Miss Matilda Roalfe, in the Sheriffs' Court. With Notes and a Special Dissertation on Blasphemy Prosecution in General, by the Secretary of the Anti-Persecution Union", published by Henry Hetherington, London and Edinburgh
Roalfe began a magazine in 1844 called "The Plebian" with William Baker.