The year is 1896 and the young women from Girton College are permitted to enrol in a few select courses at Cambridge but, unlike their male counterparts, they hold little hope of receiving a university degree. In fact, these “blue stocking” academics, as they were called, will come away from their studies with very few professional and personal prospects, because their “intellectual” pursuits neither promise them a career, nor make them eligible for marriage. Despite this, Tess Moffatt and the members of her study group are determined to affect change by working hard and proving their worth, even when a surprising chance at love nearly blows Tess off course. As they set about to challenge the status-quo, the “blue stockings” meet with both the endearing champions of their cause and those who oppose this new movement, culminating in a charged finale that tests their resolve. A new play by Jessica Swale, Blue Stockings premiered at London’s Globe Theatre in 2013, and enjoyed critical acclaim for bringing to the stage the courageous and, at times, comical heroism of young women who sought nothing more than the right to a university degree.