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The Fight for Freedom for Women
Illustrations, photographs, bibliography
Paperback
Published January 1, 1973
About the author
Rose Tremain
82 books1,127 followersDame Rose Tremain is an acclaimed English novelist and short story writer, celebrated for her distinctive approach to historical fiction and her focus on characters who exist on the margins of society. Educated at the Sorbonne and the University of East Anglia, where she later taught creative writing and served as Chancellor, Tremain has produced a rich body of work spanning novels, short stories, plays, and memoir. Influenced by writers such as William Golding and Gabriel García Márquez, her narratives often blend psychological depth with lyrical prose.
Among her many honors, she has received the Whitbread Award for Music and Silence, the Orange Prize for The Road Home, and the National Jewish Book Award for The Gustav Sonata. She was shortlisted for the Booker Prize for Restoration and has been recognized multiple times by the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction. In 2020, she was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire for her services to literature. Tremain lives in Norfolk and continues to write, with her recent novel Absolutely and Forever shortlisted for the 2024 Walter Scott Prize.
Among her many honors, she has received the Whitbread Award for Music and Silence, the Orange Prize for The Road Home, and the National Jewish Book Award for The Gustav Sonata. She was shortlisted for the Booker Prize for Restoration and has been recognized multiple times by the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction. In 2020, she was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire for her services to literature. Tremain lives in Norfolk and continues to write, with her recent novel Absolutely and Forever shortlisted for the 2024 Walter Scott Prize.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 16, 2019
The fight for freedom for women was inspired to some degree by their outlook on life as they saw it. A man might be poor and perform hard labor for a pittance, but once he came home he was 'king of his castle'. The money he earned was his. If he wanted to drink or gamble it away, then so be it. His wife knew that if she left him that he would get custody of the children and even if she were to find a job, she would not make nearly as much as him. Most women could not even own property, let alone vote. Women considered themselves lucky if they had a man to take care of them. The fight for freedom was much more than just the right to vote. It was a fight for a way of life.
At this point it should be pointed out that this movement at the time sprang up in two places separately yet simultaneously; Great Britain and the United States. In some countries of the world women are still second class citizens or the property of their husbands.
This struggle was not an easy one. It would be fair to say that it lasted for about one hundred years, with all things considering. Those who led had to learn the politics involved and how to adapt to it. A typical example is from Britain. The women and their male supporters would go to meeting to hear a certain bill debated but it would never come up. Instead the opponents to the bill for women would talk for hours about some nonsense until the meeting was over. Prime Minister Asquith thought nothing of lying and breaking promises to the women's suffrage groups. In desperation some became quite militant. In extreme cases property was destroyed, sometimes by arson. The governments response was brutal. If the police didn't beat up and arrest the women marchers they stood back and watched as gangs of young men assaulted them. The ones that were arrested resorted to hunger strikes which were later met with forced feedings. From the sound of it the experience was close to waterboarding.
There were several things I found interesting. The original struggle was limited to and for the middle class women. In America the Democrats and southern women were very much against the movement, and that the suffrage groups were against slavery because they thought they would get the same rights as freed slaves. Not only were they resentful when this didn't happen but they turned against immigrants too because of the subservient attitudes of their wives.
The book I read was originally published in 1973 and while much has changed, much is still the same. This is an excellent book on the subject from the classic series "Ballantine's Illustrated History of the Violent Century", an easy read with plenty of pictures and illustrations
At this point it should be pointed out that this movement at the time sprang up in two places separately yet simultaneously; Great Britain and the United States. In some countries of the world women are still second class citizens or the property of their husbands.
This struggle was not an easy one. It would be fair to say that it lasted for about one hundred years, with all things considering. Those who led had to learn the politics involved and how to adapt to it. A typical example is from Britain. The women and their male supporters would go to meeting to hear a certain bill debated but it would never come up. Instead the opponents to the bill for women would talk for hours about some nonsense until the meeting was over. Prime Minister Asquith thought nothing of lying and breaking promises to the women's suffrage groups. In desperation some became quite militant. In extreme cases property was destroyed, sometimes by arson. The governments response was brutal. If the police didn't beat up and arrest the women marchers they stood back and watched as gangs of young men assaulted them. The ones that were arrested resorted to hunger strikes which were later met with forced feedings. From the sound of it the experience was close to waterboarding.
There were several things I found interesting. The original struggle was limited to and for the middle class women. In America the Democrats and southern women were very much against the movement, and that the suffrage groups were against slavery because they thought they would get the same rights as freed slaves. Not only were they resentful when this didn't happen but they turned against immigrants too because of the subservient attitudes of their wives.
The book I read was originally published in 1973 and while much has changed, much is still the same. This is an excellent book on the subject from the classic series "Ballantine's Illustrated History of the Violent Century", an easy read with plenty of pictures and illustrations
December 28, 2024
I started collecting these Ballentine Books when I was in high school. To me, The Fight for Freedom for Women was the holy grail of the series. Over the years, I searched thru many a used bookstore with no avail. Back in the late 90's, I found a copy online at an exorbitant price. I wrote off ever obtaining the complete set of the series. Recently (40 some years later), I came across the book in an antique shop at a very reasonable price. The wait was worth the read.
Ms. Tremain aptly captured the trials and tribulations of the decades long struggle by the suffragettes in England and the US to obtain their right to vote in this short book. She wrote the book in the early 70's during the rise of the women's liberation movement. In telling this history, then relating it to the stir of the 70's, made it a book of its time. Yet, the chauvinistic arguments that stood in the way of women's progress back then continue to echo today.
Ms. Tremain aptly captured the trials and tribulations of the decades long struggle by the suffragettes in England and the US to obtain their right to vote in this short book. She wrote the book in the early 70's during the rise of the women's liberation movement. In telling this history, then relating it to the stir of the 70's, made it a book of its time. Yet, the chauvinistic arguments that stood in the way of women's progress back then continue to echo today.
November 15, 2019
A fine brief history of the suffragettes.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews