Tag: social change in the early twentieth century

Women and Power -The Struggle for Suffrage by Sophie Duncan and Rachael Lennon

May 22, 2018

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At first glance this is a slim book of photographs associated with the fight for the vote for women in Britain. Produced by the National Trust, it would be easy to dismiss it as a gift book. However, the text and selection of photographs goes far beyond merely descriptive; this book represents a scholarly overview of the events, people and situation in the late nineteenth century. The most significant achievement of this book is the way it brings the 1918 decision to allow certain women to have the vote up to date in the gender politics of today.

The book largely covers the involvement of people associated with National Trust properties on all sides of the debate. In the section “Risking a Change 1868 – 1905”, the authors identify families who campaigned for suffrage, as well as those who were divided on the whole question. Portraits of the women involved are reproduced throughout the book to a high quality, and so much work has been done in finding and using the pictures and photographs. There is a lot here about women’s situation before the suffrage campaign began, such as actress Ellen Terry as well as the confusing views of Virginia Woolf. The relationships between activists is explored in the section called “Decentring men”. The people are linked to the properties with such diverse choices as Kipling  of Batemans who accused the suffragists of not caring about the politics, just the men involved. Force feeding is discussed, as well as the memorable Emily Davison whose very public actions at the Derby affected so many lives.

There are many books available about the fight for women’s suffrage in this anniversary year, often far more comprehensive than this book. This book’s selling point is the way it links National Trust properties to the people involved, and the exhibitions and events planned for this anniversary year. Wallington is mentioned as the home of socialist activists, but the property has chosen not to run an exhibition this year as it is celebrating fifty years of National Trust ownership. The book covers issues such as whether the suffragettes could be seen as terrorists for their actions, and the nature of the limited enfranchisement in 1918.The final section is called Women and Power 2018, and begins with a quote from Attwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale” “We lived in the gaps between the stories”.  Altogether this book is a super introduction to the subject, and though it lacks an index and bibliography there is much to be found in this book. I would certainly recommend it as an introduction to the topic, and for those who want a glimpse of the people behind the historical facts.

I actually bought my copy of the above at Wallington, but I have seen it on Amazon, or try  http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/guidebook/womenandpower

I am a Life Member of the National Trust, but I am not involved in the production of this book, honestly!

Looking forward to future events, the Derby Book Festival seems to have some interesting events coming up, and Northernvicar has already bought some tickets. Watch this space for further developments!

A Lady and Her Husband by Amber Reeves – A Persephone feminist classic

May 3, 2018

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Persephone books have been producing some superb books over many years, and this 1914 book that was reprinted in 2016 is an example of an early book which could reasonably be seen as feminist. Not strident, not mentioning the campaign for the votes that was going on alongside, this book manages to question the role of women within the family, in the workplace, and making a real difference in the economic life of the country. It is a subtle tale of a woman who is not making huge public statements, and seemingly is trapped within her family. She is challenged on many sides to think about the hidden plight of women outside her comfort zone, but the life and death treatment makes her question everything and everyone around her. The writing is so careful yet so successful that this is an immensely readable and enjoyable novel.

Mary, wife of James, mother of three adult children, has lived in considerable comfort for many years. She is gently consulted on matters of the household and her daughters’ marriages, but she is also patronised by her son and husband who always know best. Laura is successfully married and her first baby is expected, Trent is the son who is confident of his own role in the family business. Rosemary wants to marry, but she has also made a study of socialism and the condition of working women, and manages to persuade her family that her mother’s impending loneliness would be best assuaged by a study of the young women employed in the chain of tea shops that the family owns. To Mary’s surprise, her investigations together with her secretary, Miss Percival, means that she gets involved in the actual lives of some of these girls, and finds that the assumptions of independent means were often unfounded. The women are working hard and their health is being affected by the lack of rest time and the uniforms they are obliged to wear. It is when she presents these findings to her husband that their relationship is threatened; for their entire marriage he has known how to show just enough affection and thoughtfulness to keep her happy. He is not intentionally harsh, but assumes that her money can be used to develop the business without consultation, and without much thought for his female employees. Beyond this concern, Mary’s view of her husband is severely shaken, and for a while the whole marriage is in the balance.

The preface to this book, written by the popular author Samantha Ellis, brings out the radical and challenging nature of this book, set against the story of its author and her relationships. This is more than just a family saga, yet can be read as a story of a woman trying to assert herself within her family and have an effect on those women employed in business.  Thus it is a book which works on several levels, yet is so subtle that the narrative is not obscured by political or social arguments. Read this book for the enjoyable story, but also come to appreciate the overwhelming sense of a challenge to the status quo beyond the vote. Both within an outwardly happy marriage, and in a profitable, successful business, the daily life of women is depicted as difficult, even oppressive, and someone or something must change. I thoroughly recommend this book as a satisfactory read for this year in which we think about the women who campaigned for the vote, and so many other aspects of a fair deal.

This Persephone book was sitting on the side waiting to be read for far too long, and I am so glad that I managed to find it in the pile to read and review. I am looking forward to reading more very soon!  The Ellis Preface in this book is particularly interesting,  as it gives a fascinating view of the author’s life and times, and added greatly to my understanding of the book (after I had read it, just in case of spoilers…)