Marianne Martindale is an English writer and columnist. As Miss Martindale, she was a prominent public face of Aristasia, an all-female subculture inspired by the Traditionalist School and early twentieth-century culture, many members of which attended a "school" at her West London home. Aristasia is a feminine version of the Greek wordaristos, which means 'the best'. From 1982 to 1992 Martindale was one of the leaders of the Silver Sisterhood group based in Burtonport, County Donegal in Ireland. That group is known for creating early text adventure video games such as Bugsy and Jack the Ripper, the first game to be given an '18' rating. Martindale received national attention in the British press in the 1990s for her advocacy of corporal punishment.
Writings
Martindale's writings include The Female Disciplinary Manual, Disciplined Ladies and other stories, and The District Governess, published by The Wildfire Club, which Martindale co-founded. From 2003 to 2005, Martindale wrote the Ladies' Column in The Chap magazine and was Aristasia's media representative. She discontinued this in accordance with the then-nascent Bridgehead Doctrine, which discourages Aristasians from publicly commenting on "foreign" culture and politics.
Martindale is known for her practice and advocacy of corporal punishment, with a related 1991 conviction for actual bodily harm. This led to criticism from some Aristasians, who felt that in the public eye she was associating the movement too much with its minor disciplinary aspect. Some non-Aristasians have characterized Aristasia as an "S/M fantasy group" as a result of this. However, Martindale's recorded statements and interviews made clear her dislike of S/M, and her belief in discipline as spiritual and purifying. Some British newspapers, notably The Guardian, criticized Martindale for her correspondence with John Tyndall of the far-right British National Party, but Martindale always maintained that, as an Aristasian, she was neutral on matters of "Tellurian" politics. Martindale is a royalist and imperialist, but with loyalty only to the Aristasian monarchy and empire.
