"The Obscenity Trial. On 24 March 1877 Annie worked with Bradlaugh to republish Dr Charles Knowlton’s Fruits of Philosophy [1832] (a pamphlet that advocated the use of contraceptive practice); an act that led to the arrest of Besant and Bradlaugh on 6 April 1877 for transgressing the Obscene Publications Act 1857. The following ‘Obscenity trial’ was held on 18 June... both were proclaimed guilty. However, the sentence was overturned on a technicality so Besant and Bradlaugh were able to walk free. The arrest and trial were widely publicised across the country and while Annie lost her ‘good name’ in the process, the associated press coverage succeeded in propelling the pamphlet’s informative advice far beyond their initial reach... Annie acknowledged in 1886 that ‘I had long since given up my social reputation’ and spent the remainder of the decade openly professing socialism and dedicating her efforts to the unemployed and downtrodden. This endeavour led her to the plight of the Bryant and May ‘match girls’ working in the Bow factory in 1888 for whom she commanded a strike, successfully leading to the establishment of the Matchmakers Union and better wages – the event for which she has become most famous..."