What do you think?
Rate this book
Sylvia Pankhurst: Suffragette, Socialist and Scourge of Empire: Suffragette, Socialist and Scourge of Empire
From militant suffragette at the beginning of the twentieth century to campaigner against colonialism in Africa after the Second World War, Sylvia Pankhurst dedicated her life to fighting oppression and injustice.
In this vivid biography Katherine Connelly examines Pankhurst’s role at the forefront of significant developments in the history of radical politics. She guides us through Pankhurst's construction of a suffragette militancy which put working-class women at the heart of the struggle, her championing of the Bolshevik Revolution and her clandestine attempts to sabotage the actions of the British state, as well as her early identification of the dangers of Fascism.
The book explores the dilemmas, debates and often painful personal consequences faced by Pankhurst which were played out in her art, writings and activism. It argues that far from being an advocate of disparate causes, Pankhurst’s campaigns were united by an essential continuity which hold vital lessons for achieving social change. This lively and accessible biography presents Pankhurst as a courageous and inspiring campaigner, of huge relevance to those engaged in social movements today.
In this vivid biography Katherine Connelly examines Pankhurst’s role at the forefront of significant developments in the history of radical politics. She guides us through Pankhurst's construction of a suffragette militancy which put working-class women at the heart of the struggle, her championing of the Bolshevik Revolution and her clandestine attempts to sabotage the actions of the British state, as well as her early identification of the dangers of Fascism.
The book explores the dilemmas, debates and often painful personal consequences faced by Pankhurst which were played out in her art, writings and activism. It argues that far from being an advocate of disparate causes, Pankhurst’s campaigns were united by an essential continuity which hold vital lessons for achieving social change. This lively and accessible biography presents Pankhurst as a courageous and inspiring campaigner, of huge relevance to those engaged in social movements today.
176 pages, Paperback
First published September 3, 2013
5 people are currently reading
313 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
September 3, 2017
Sylvia Pankhurt was a fascinating woman. She was the daughter of Emmeline Pankhurst who will be familiar to anyone who is familiar with women's studies or at the very least watched the 2015 movie, Suffragette. (Emmeline was portrayed by the amazing Meryl Streep.) E. Pankhurst helped form the Independent Labour Party (this is in Britain back in the day, hence the spelling) and was a British suffragette who did a lot of good. E. Pankhurst, however, had some negative opinions and views as well, and Sylvia found some of the conservative beliefs held by her parents to be contradictory to their claimed causes.
Sylvia held many of the same beliefs in the rights of women to vote and equality, but she also held views surrounding the equality of all people, not just the white ones. This view as more radical than the feminists that came before her, though for a reader today we're all sitting here saying "Yeah, but this is common sense."
Well, at least those of us who didn't vote for #45.
I'm a pretty big fan of Emma Goldman's, an anarchist about twenty years Sylvia's senior. As soon as anyone hears "anarchist", however, their eyes glaze over and they clasp their proverbial pearls and they gasp. If you read Sylvia Pankhurst's biography, wherein she is described as a socialist, you'll see a lot of similarities. But socialism is a much easier term to swallow, and even then (particularly for those on the right), socialism if considered Communism or Bolshevism, and all of those things tend to get lumped in together with anarchism, so.
The two women had a lot of the same views - radical at the time, though much more socially embraced today. Radical welfare? Check. Birth control and abortion rights? Check. Rights for unions and the working man and woman? Check, check. The list goes on. While we're sitting here spending much of our time on Facebook and other platforms talking about our politics, these women were out there living them.
Sylvia Pankhurst was arrested, like many other women. And like other women, she enforced a hunger strike and was forcibly fed by means of having her jaws pried open and a feeding tube shoved down her nose and throat twice a day. She also took it a step further and enacted a thirst strike, refusing to drink anything. And then, as a final attempt, she instituted a rest strike, refusing to sit or lie down for however long she could manage.
Remember that when you're waging your war on social media. I'm not saying shut up, but I am saying there are other measures, you could be out there actually doing things too. And sometimes, as in the case of a hunger, thirst, or rest strike, she never opened her mouth unless it was forced open.
Actions speak louder than words sometimes.
There's plenty of wonderful information in this slim book. Much of it is familiar to me because of my interests, but I'm glad this book exists for those who want to know more who are otherwise unfamiliar with the name Sylvia Pankhurst and what she stood for. (Spoiler: She stood for a lot - an impressive lot, actually. She makes us all look like losers.)
But the execution of the material left a lot to be desired. I found myself not as interested in some of the details as I probably should have been, and in part that was due to the dry and somewhat formal expression of the information. There's a wealth of fascinating history surrounding Sylvia Pankhurst and her cohorts, but that didn't come through as richly as I would have hoped - at least not as consistently.
If you're interested in the history of feminism, regardless of where in the world or where in history, this is a good place to start with S. Pankhurst. I find it hard to believe there's not a better biography out there, but this is definitely a decent beginning and covers a lot of ground, albeit rather briefly.
I'd say 2 stars for execution but 3 stars for the material.
Also, this part bothered me the entire time I read this book, it just kept creeping back up into my mind:
If you're on the west coast (LA, San Francisco), and you return to Albany... you are going east. I know this is probably just a typo, but it's things like that which make me wonder why editors get paid at all. It's such an easy thing to look up and correct. Oh, pesky geography.
Sylvia held many of the same beliefs in the rights of women to vote and equality, but she also held views surrounding the equality of all people, not just the white ones. This view as more radical than the feminists that came before her, though for a reader today we're all sitting here saying "Yeah, but this is common sense."
Well, at least those of us who didn't vote for #45.
I'm a pretty big fan of Emma Goldman's, an anarchist about twenty years Sylvia's senior. As soon as anyone hears "anarchist", however, their eyes glaze over and they clasp their proverbial pearls and they gasp. If you read Sylvia Pankhurst's biography, wherein she is described as a socialist, you'll see a lot of similarities. But socialism is a much easier term to swallow, and even then (particularly for those on the right), socialism if considered Communism or Bolshevism, and all of those things tend to get lumped in together with anarchism, so.
The two women had a lot of the same views - radical at the time, though much more socially embraced today. Radical welfare? Check. Birth control and abortion rights? Check. Rights for unions and the working man and woman? Check, check. The list goes on. While we're sitting here spending much of our time on Facebook and other platforms talking about our politics, these women were out there living them.
Sylvia Pankhurst was arrested, like many other women. And like other women, she enforced a hunger strike and was forcibly fed by means of having her jaws pried open and a feeding tube shoved down her nose and throat twice a day. She also took it a step further and enacted a thirst strike, refusing to drink anything. And then, as a final attempt, she instituted a rest strike, refusing to sit or lie down for however long she could manage.
To force her release she began a 'rest strike', feverishly 'dashing across and across my cell with outstretched arms, throwing my weight against the wall as I turned'. Sylvia walked continuously for 28 hours before the doctors agreed to an independent medical examination and then her release.
Remember that when you're waging your war on social media. I'm not saying shut up, but I am saying there are other measures, you could be out there actually doing things too. And sometimes, as in the case of a hunger, thirst, or rest strike, she never opened her mouth unless it was forced open.
Actions speak louder than words sometimes.
There's plenty of wonderful information in this slim book. Much of it is familiar to me because of my interests, but I'm glad this book exists for those who want to know more who are otherwise unfamiliar with the name Sylvia Pankhurst and what she stood for. (Spoiler: She stood for a lot - an impressive lot, actually. She makes us all look like losers.)
But the execution of the material left a lot to be desired. I found myself not as interested in some of the details as I probably should have been, and in part that was due to the dry and somewhat formal expression of the information. There's a wealth of fascinating history surrounding Sylvia Pankhurst and her cohorts, but that didn't come through as richly as I would have hoped - at least not as consistently.
If you're interested in the history of feminism, regardless of where in the world or where in history, this is a good place to start with S. Pankhurst. I find it hard to believe there's not a better biography out there, but this is definitely a decent beginning and covers a lot of ground, albeit rather briefly.
I'd say 2 stars for execution but 3 stars for the material.
Also, this part bothered me the entire time I read this book, it just kept creeping back up into my mind:
Sylvia undertook two American tours, one in 1911 and one in 1912. The tours were long and arduous... In her three-month-long 1911 tour she went from New York to St. Paul in Minnesota, Chicago and Evanston in Illinois, Kansas City, St. Louis, Indianapolis and Detroit, before speaking in Ottawa and Toronto in Canada. After more New York meetings, she travelled to the other side of the United States, stopping in Denver, Los Angeles and San Francisco before returning west, stopping in Albany, Concord and Boston.
If you're on the west coast (LA, San Francisco), and you return to Albany... you are going east. I know this is probably just a typo, but it's things like that which make me wonder why editors get paid at all. It's such an easy thing to look up and correct. Oh, pesky geography.
April 9, 2017
It appears evident from this biography that the most influential figure in Sylvia's life was her father, Richard Pankhurst. He taught her to stand by her principles without regard for the opinions of others.
When her snobbish sister Christabel was abroad, Sylvia was asked to take over the WSPU (Women's Social and Political Union) which was founded by their mother, Emmeline. So she recruited working class and labor activists. She held massive rallies with Labour Party speakers even though her mother and sister were strongly identified with the Conservative Party. She also involved suffragettes in strikes and sent them to speak at union locals. When Christabel learned what Sylvia was doing, she summoned Sylvia to Paris. The result was a complete break between the Pankhurst sisters, but I'm sure that Sylvia was on the right side of history. She built alliances and refused to exclude anyone on the basis of class.
I consider this book the best non-fiction that I've read so far in 2017. Sylvia Pankhurst is such an inspiring figure.
For my complete review see http://shomeretmasked.blogspot.com/20...
When her snobbish sister Christabel was abroad, Sylvia was asked to take over the WSPU (Women's Social and Political Union) which was founded by their mother, Emmeline. So she recruited working class and labor activists. She held massive rallies with Labour Party speakers even though her mother and sister were strongly identified with the Conservative Party. She also involved suffragettes in strikes and sent them to speak at union locals. When Christabel learned what Sylvia was doing, she summoned Sylvia to Paris. The result was a complete break between the Pankhurst sisters, but I'm sure that Sylvia was on the right side of history. She built alliances and refused to exclude anyone on the basis of class.
I consider this book the best non-fiction that I've read so far in 2017. Sylvia Pankhurst is such an inspiring figure.
For my complete review see http://shomeretmasked.blogspot.com/20...
October 19, 2025
If we listen to the dominant narrative of the British campaign for women’s suffrage, we hear a fairly simple linear story of a split in the movement over tactics – lobbying and advocacy or direct action – and a heroic successful struggle led by Pankhurst mother and daughter, Emmeline and Christabel. We hear tales of sacrifice, of imprisonment, of force feeding, direct action (window breaking, bombing – well, bombing if we listen carefully – it’s not usually celebrated by the liberal narrative) all framed as a focused tightly led campaign. It’s an inspiring story to be sure, but like all simple narratives it is incomplete. It tends to skip over the campaign’s undemocratic structure and narrow focus, the failure to link with other campaigns changing the British state with a view to enhanced democracy and equality – notably Irish independence but also the mass working class activism of the era. At the closer frame of leadership it also writes out of the narrative the other two Pankhurst daughters – Adela exiled to Australia for defying her sister’s orders, and Sylvia, whose focus was on working class women especially in London’s East End.
Katherine Connelly engaging, accessible biography of Sylvia covers a lot of ground in a short book (barely 150 pages) helps write her back into that story. Connelly does so carefully drawing out action and activism while also showing the parallels and distinctions in suffrage campaign tactics, between the WSPU’s centralised non-democratic form and Sylvia’s East London Federation of Suffragists more inclusive leadership and decision-making structure alongside the ELFS’s wider focus, recognising that the vote in itself would be unlikely to have a fundamental impact on working class women’s lives.
Connelly also locates Sylvia and the ELFS in the shifting left wing politics of the era, in the emergence of the Independent Labour Party, the debates around World War One, the early formation of the Communist Party, shifting trade union arrangements, and the growth in the 1920s and 1930s of both anti-fascist and anti-imperialist politics and action. The image is of a much more complex figure at the slightly renegade suffrage campaigner we get in the ‘official’ WSPU-centric narrative, although also of a woman who could be fickle and at times difficult to work with who, at times, ‘went her own way’ even when she’d been involved in making the decisions she was rejecting.
I would have liked more of the later era – the anti-fascist and especially the work in Ethiopia, but given the relative weighting of those issues and the suffrage campaigns it’s likely that sources are more sparse. Even so, this is a valuable restorative biography of a figure who tells us a more complex story of Britain’s 20th century social and political struggles.
Katherine Connelly engaging, accessible biography of Sylvia covers a lot of ground in a short book (barely 150 pages) helps write her back into that story. Connelly does so carefully drawing out action and activism while also showing the parallels and distinctions in suffrage campaign tactics, between the WSPU’s centralised non-democratic form and Sylvia’s East London Federation of Suffragists more inclusive leadership and decision-making structure alongside the ELFS’s wider focus, recognising that the vote in itself would be unlikely to have a fundamental impact on working class women’s lives.
Connelly also locates Sylvia and the ELFS in the shifting left wing politics of the era, in the emergence of the Independent Labour Party, the debates around World War One, the early formation of the Communist Party, shifting trade union arrangements, and the growth in the 1920s and 1930s of both anti-fascist and anti-imperialist politics and action. The image is of a much more complex figure at the slightly renegade suffrage campaigner we get in the ‘official’ WSPU-centric narrative, although also of a woman who could be fickle and at times difficult to work with who, at times, ‘went her own way’ even when she’d been involved in making the decisions she was rejecting.
I would have liked more of the later era – the anti-fascist and especially the work in Ethiopia, but given the relative weighting of those issues and the suffrage campaigns it’s likely that sources are more sparse. Even so, this is a valuable restorative biography of a figure who tells us a more complex story of Britain’s 20th century social and political struggles.
December 3, 2017
This book is quite good. Although I felt perhaps the book was too complimentary of Sylvia (How could someone be so principled and active and seemingly just?), I gained an entirely new (to me) perspective on the early twentieth century, women's rights, Africans' rights, imperialism, fascism, and the events contributing to world war II.
The author nicely weaves a lot of information together to tell the story of the working class and Sylvia. It starkly contrasts with some of the more watered down or sanitized stories I've heard in the past, especially the movie Suffragette. The roles of class, race, sex and politics are all considered here for all players. The extreme hardships faced by the working class women are much much harder than I previously knew.
Upton Sinclair's The Jungle is one of my favorite books, and I think this book would be a great companion read.
The author nicely weaves a lot of information together to tell the story of the working class and Sylvia. It starkly contrasts with some of the more watered down or sanitized stories I've heard in the past, especially the movie Suffragette. The roles of class, race, sex and politics are all considered here for all players. The extreme hardships faced by the working class women are much much harder than I previously knew.
Upton Sinclair's The Jungle is one of my favorite books, and I think this book would be a great companion read.
September 6, 2023
Really nice, short biography on Sylvia Pankhurst (the best one, no bias or anything).
I was especially interested in her early influences in the WSPU, including the 1906 members card she designed and the emphasis on working women. It's sad that a more socialist angle for WSPU was quickly abandoned by 1907, including the adaptation of the white, green and purple over the initial usage of red.
Despite my namesake, I was surprised about the things I did not know about, such as her affair with Keir Hardie and that her American tours of 1911 and 1912 (which I knew about vaguely) included unscheduled visits to Native American reservations and voicing her support and solidarity for Native Americans.
However her work in East London and evolution from the ELFS to the WSF and beyond really stands out to me. She reminded me of James Connolly (who she met) in someone we remember fondly now for being uncompromisingly progressive and a figure seemingly 'everyone likes.' The book balances being favourable and remarking on how ahead she was in many instances alongside some criticisms of her. This includes mentioning some of her initial disgusts at certain working women (despite the enthusiasm she had for when she studied men and women working together) to the alienation she brought about in the WSF as she moved further away from local issues to international issues in The Dreadnought as well as her 'fetishisation' of Soviets and her abstentionist politics that could have potentially halted the development of a communist party in Britain.
The end of the book seems slower and more drawn out over the 20s and 30s with her anti-fascist and anti-imperialist activism that I think could have done with a bit more detail. The biography mentions her stances being almost proto Third-Worldism and I'd be curious if similar thoughts are in the political biography by Barbara Winslow.
However for what it is, a short, introductory biography to Sylvia Pankhurst, it does that job really well. Recommended.
I was especially interested in her early influences in the WSPU, including the 1906 members card she designed and the emphasis on working women. It's sad that a more socialist angle for WSPU was quickly abandoned by 1907, including the adaptation of the white, green and purple over the initial usage of red.
Despite my namesake, I was surprised about the things I did not know about, such as her affair with Keir Hardie and that her American tours of 1911 and 1912 (which I knew about vaguely) included unscheduled visits to Native American reservations and voicing her support and solidarity for Native Americans.
However her work in East London and evolution from the ELFS to the WSF and beyond really stands out to me. She reminded me of James Connolly (who she met) in someone we remember fondly now for being uncompromisingly progressive and a figure seemingly 'everyone likes.' The book balances being favourable and remarking on how ahead she was in many instances alongside some criticisms of her. This includes mentioning some of her initial disgusts at certain working women (despite the enthusiasm she had for when she studied men and women working together) to the alienation she brought about in the WSF as she moved further away from local issues to international issues in The Dreadnought as well as her 'fetishisation' of Soviets and her abstentionist politics that could have potentially halted the development of a communist party in Britain.
The end of the book seems slower and more drawn out over the 20s and 30s with her anti-fascist and anti-imperialist activism that I think could have done with a bit more detail. The biography mentions her stances being almost proto Third-Worldism and I'd be curious if similar thoughts are in the political biography by Barbara Winslow.
However for what it is, a short, introductory biography to Sylvia Pankhurst, it does that job really well. Recommended.
August 22, 2023
This is a terrific, very accessible book about one of the greatest – if less known – British campaigners and independent newspaper editors of the late 19th and 20th centuries, Sylvia Pankhurst: indefatigable suffragette, revolutionary socialist, anti-racist, anti-fascist, anti-colonialist, [spoiler alert!] secret lover of the founder and first MP of the UK Labour Party, Lenin debater, Stalin critic. Unlike her mother (Emmeline) and older sister (Christabel), who veered increasingly into elite minority activism and active Tory support, Sylvia Pankhurst’s almost always excellent politics, based on the self emancipation of the working class and militant mass activism, are brought into sharp relief by the clarity, power and rightness of the writer, Katherine Connelly’s own political vision.
It was Katherine Connelly’s contribution to the Arise 2023 festival, on Sylvia Pankhurst, that inspired me to buy and read the book and I highly recommend the catch-up version of her talk, available in video and audio formats.
Sylvia Pankhurst - Suffragette, Socialist & Scourge of Empire
With Katherine Connelly, writer, historian, biographer
Arise Festival, Friday, June 9, 2023
Listen:
https://shows.acast.com/arise-festiva...
Watch:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDS8J...
Buy the book:
Sylvia Pankhurst, Suffragette, Socialist and Scourge of Empire, by Katherine Connelly in the Pluto Press series on Revolutionary Lives
https://www.plutobooks.com/9780745333...
It was Katherine Connelly’s contribution to the Arise 2023 festival, on Sylvia Pankhurst, that inspired me to buy and read the book and I highly recommend the catch-up version of her talk, available in video and audio formats.
Sylvia Pankhurst - Suffragette, Socialist & Scourge of Empire
With Katherine Connelly, writer, historian, biographer
Arise Festival, Friday, June 9, 2023
Listen:
https://shows.acast.com/arise-festiva...
Watch:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDS8J...
Buy the book:
Sylvia Pankhurst, Suffragette, Socialist and Scourge of Empire, by Katherine Connelly in the Pluto Press series on Revolutionary Lives
https://www.plutobooks.com/9780745333...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 4, 2021
A short but interesting history of the life of Sylvia Pankhurst, from her life as a young artist, to suffragette, to her move to organising working class women and getting Asquith to relent on womens suffrage. It then goes on to talk about Pankhurst's opposition to war, to imperialism (especially with regards to Ethiopia), to fascism and to capitalism. It does however gloss over a lot of the later years of her life where Pankhurst was less politically active. Well written and concise, this book is a great introduction to the life of a truly incredible woman.
January 4, 2017
What a woman!! One of the most inspiring biographies I have ever read; the far less acknowledged Pankhurst fought not only for women's suffrage but also campaigned tirelessly for workers rights and against colonialism. This is a short, accessible read that I found interesting particularly because it focused on her achievements and strategies throughout her activism as opposed to her personal life. Can not recommend this enough!!
October 17, 2023
Fascinating person, much more of what I think a feminist should be compared to her more famous mother.
A very detailed book, at times a little too detailed re facts, but that's just personal based on my poor concentration!
A very detailed book, at times a little too detailed re facts, but that's just personal based on my poor concentration!
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews