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'In the early 1930s Janet Mitchell was in a unique position to report the Japanese occupation of Manzhou (Manchuria), an event now regarded as the forerunner of World War II. She watched as Japanese troops marched into the strategic city of Harbin and observed the League of Nations remain impotent as Japan occupied the Chinese province. Her opportunities in journalism, hard-won and precarious, flowed from her participation in international organisations but she turned to senior roles in education for intermittent financial security. Her life story illustrates the difficulties highly qualified and dedicated women faced in pursuing careers in the period between the wars. ' (Publication abstract)