of the Fabian Society, Beatrice Webb. Joad was so fearful of conscription that he fled to Snowdonia, Wales, until it was safe to return. After the birth of three children, Joad's marriage ended in separation in 1921. Joad later caused some controversy by stating his separation had caused him to abandon his feminism and instead adopt a belief in the "inferior mind" of women. Life after separation After the separation Joad moved to Hampstead in London with a student teacher, Marjorie Thomson. She was the first of many mistresses, all of whom were introduced as 'Mrs Joad'. He described sexual desire as "a buzzing bluebottle that needed to be swatted promptly before it distracted a man of intellect from higher things." He believed that female minds lacked objectivity, and he had no interest in talking to women who would not go to bed with him. By now Joad was "short and rotund, with bright little eyes, round, rosy cheeks, and a stiff, bristly beard." He dressed in shabby clothing as a test: if people sneered at this they were too petty to merit acquaintance. Job interviews proved a great difficulty for Joad, due to his flippancy. In 1930, however, he left the civil service to become Head of the Department of Philosophy and Psychology at Birkbeck College, University of London. Although the department was small, he made full use of his great teaching skills. He popularised philosophy, and many other philosophers were beginning to take him seriously. With his two books, Guide to Modern Thought (1933) and Guide to Philosophy (1936), he became a well-known figure in public society. 1930s–1940s In his early life Joad very much shared the desire for the destruction of the Capitalist system. He was expelled from the Fabian Society in 1925 because of sexual misbehaviour at its summer school, and did not rejoin until 1943. In 1931, disenchanted with Labour in office, Joad became Director of Propaganda for the New Party. Owing to the rise of Oswald Mosley's pro-Fascist sympathies, Joad resigned, along with John Strachey. Soon afterwards he became bitterly opposed to Nazism, but he continued to oppose militarism and gave his support to pacifist organisations, including the No More War Movement and the Peace Pledge Union. While at Birkbeck College Joad played a leading role in The King and Country debate. The motion, devised by David Graham and debated on Thursday 9 February