With All Her Might: The Life of Gertrude Harding, Militant Suffragette

by Gretchen Wilson

Book by Wilson, Gretchen

264 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1996

Reviews

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great overview of the suffragette movement in England and picture of women's lives in the early 19th century, if you love women's history and stories about badass women, this is for you.

[L. Munro · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a life! It is always amazing to learn about the incredible things some people have done in their lives and this story is certainly incredible. Gertrude Harding, a Canadian, found herself in London and smack dab in the middle of the militant suffrage fight. Joining up, Harding made her way to the centre of the action and was a trusted employee of the Women's Social and Political Union. What blew me away the most was that Harding was in a key position in the formation of the Bodyguard, a group of women who trained in Jujitsu to protect the suffragettes from the police. This was one of the first times I had heard of the Bodyguard and it floored me. Suffragettes engaging in hand to hand combat with Metropolitan Police?

I fell in love with the story of Gertrude Harding and with Gertrude Harding herself in Gretchen Wilson's lovely joining of autobiography and biography. The original writings of Gertrude Harding are woven into Wilson's biographical examination of her life and times. I can't imagine a more adventurous life than Gertrude Hardings! What a brave and incredible woman. I was very much inspired by her story.

[Jennifer Gyuricska · Rating 4 out of 5]

It started off slow and a bit textbook-ish but got better and more personal to Ms. Harding the deeper I was in the book. Altogether a great read!