Crooked Pieces

by Sarah Grazebrook

London, 1905. Maggie’s new position as a maid lifts her from East End poverty and brings her into the world of the suffragettes, in particular the Pankhursts—icons for a generation of women in search of equality and the right to vote. Before long her life takes another exciting turn when she begins ‘walking out’ with a young police officer, Fred Thorpe. As Maggie becomes drawn into an increasingly militant battle with the authorities, she is torn between her loyalty to the man she loves and her passionate belief in the cause for which she is fighting. Is Maggie prepared to sacrifice her one chance of happiness for the sake of a future she may never see?

Genres: Historical Fiction

431 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2007

About the author

SARAH GRAZEBROOK exchanged a career as a television actress for one as a writer following the birth of her second child. Her first novel, Not Waving, won the Cosmopolitan Fiction Prize and she has written six others. She writes a monthly column, Notes from the Garret, for Kent Life and contributes to a variety of satirical radio programmes. Sarah has wide experience of teaching creative writing for the Arvon Foundation and at Macon in France. She now lives in Deal, Kent.

Reviews

[Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Part-fictional account of a "working class" girl who is involved at first hand in the Pankhursts' suffragette movement of the early 1900s. It is very telling that even though women were fighting to be equal, class differences led to tensions and inequality among the women themselves! The style reflects Maggie's development from semi-illiterate maid to eventual orator for the suffragettes!

[Veraa · Rating 4 out of 5]

WAS IT FRED AT THE END THAT CAME BACK? IT WAS WASNT IT????? Omg i didnt like this book the beginning because of the writing style but as maggie became more educated so did the narration in the book. A long story and the struggle seemed to never end. But in the end we all know that women did get their vote :)

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting book.
Wasn't sure about the writing....and still am not........
The cover is too 'Mills and Boon' ......and the quote on the cover is off-putting ......but the subject matter is intriguing.

In my ignorance.... I thought of suffragettes as women led by Pankhurst, chained to railings, who won votes for women.

This book leads us through the many years of increasing militancy....what would these days be termed 'domestic terrorism'..... campaigns of breaking windows and burning of property. It seems that history is still undecided as to whether their activism helped or hindered the cause.

It also portrays the inhumane way these women were treated by authorities. They were no doubt extremely brave over a long period of time.... another sad episode in history.....and only a hundred years ago.

[Jane Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great insight into the lives of the suffragettes, including Emmaline Pankhurst, and their fight for women's equality and their right to vote. Although thought provoking it also has a good personal story. Recommended.

[Cassandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Slow burn, but worth pushing through for the final third.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

One sentence summary:
This is the story about Maggie, a poor girl who gets to know a whole other world due to her job at the Pankhursts.

Why x stars?
I'm not really familiar with the suffragettes. I had obviously heard of them before and knew a bit of it but it was really nice to learn all these extra things. And surprising at times.

Why recommendation (or not)?
It's a very good book. It makes you think about the past, how we've come a far way. But also about the current times and how everything is going at the moment.

[Elaine · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was recommended to me by a good reads member. I'll admit I was a little hesitant, the cover (I know I shouldn't judge), the reviews by heat magazine etc. all just seemed a little chick lit to me BUT I'm going to anger the book snob in me here and say ... I actually really liked it.

I didn't initially. With its first person narration all I could hear in my head is Audrey Hepburn doing Eliza Doolittle but as the character grows so (rather skilfully) does the narration.

I know shamefully little about the suffragette movement and feel I should know more and this book has reinforced that. The novel tries not be one sided and does try to show us 'the other side' of the movement but it does fall a bit short here. I also think, as horrible as some of it is, it doesn't do justice to the horror of what was going on at the time. This is just down to the limitations of the author in my opinion.

The ending also was little bit 'meh'. The book sort of fizzles out and then there's a small section catching up with some of the characters.

Overall though I really enjoyed it, far more than I thought I would. What's more important though is it’s made me want to read more about the Suffragette's and any book that makes you want to investigate further is a good book in my opinion!

[Kassandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was doing some shopping when I came across a book sale stall and originally what drew me to this book was it's cover, it looked so ominous and beautiful so I immediately picked it up. I was pleasantly surprised when I found out it was about suffragettes and as soon as I started reading it I never wanted to put it down.

I LOVE THIS BOOK!!

There was never a dull moment throughout this story and I fell in love with Maggie (the main character) straight away.
Grazebrook's writing style is amazing and her characters are so interesting, sometimes I struggled while reading it though but only because of the things the women had to go through and it makes it a bit harder knowing that things like that really did happen.

Although it has uplifting moments, the story is still pretty heavy but it's really interesting and beautiful.

[Gemma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book. I didn't really know anything about the suffragettes, but I learnt an awful lot about what they went through to get women the vote reading this book - some of it, like the force feeding in prisons was quite disturbing. The base of the story is true, but the main character is fictional, Maggie a young girl from a very poor background becomes heavily involved with the suffragettes. I would definately recommend this book, a really good story and you learn a lot too.

[scherzo♫ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Revealing and heart-touching picture of English Suffragette movement;
but some characters too good, others too evil;
main character defined more roundly but several actions/non-actions went against characterization to service the plot.

[Lynda Atkinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good easy read.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book and despite its length I got through it in a couple of days and it has definitely made me keen to read more books on the women's movement in the early 20th century.