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The Militant Suffragettes
This is the story of a phenomenal movement. It was a revolution - a violent revolution for the rights of equal citizenship, but without bloodshed. The Suffragettes fought for the oppressed, but where themselves exceptional women, and they remained essentially feminine and dignified in the face of opposition, ridicule and humiliation. The book is filled with stories of feats of endurance, ruses, escapes and disguises - amusing, touching and sometimes horrifying.
The suffragettes tried peaceable methods of demonstration and were eventually driven to extremes of behaviour totally alien to their upbringing and previous life. When the fight was on, class barriers ceased to exist; led by the Pankhursts, mill girls and ladies of high rank worked equally together. They gained strength - a moral strength - by courage and faith in their cause.
The suffragettes tried peaceable methods of demonstration and were eventually driven to extremes of behaviour totally alien to their upbringing and previous life. When the fight was on, class barriers ceased to exist; led by the Pankhursts, mill girls and ladies of high rank worked equally together. They gained strength - a moral strength - by courage and faith in their cause.
269 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1973
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 24, 2019
This is an incredibly important book that details the history of the suffragette movement in Britain. It's out-of-print but I was able to get hold of a copy from a library (and some used copies are available online). The lives and activism of several important suffragettes (some of whom I hadn't heard of, such as, for example, Annie Kenny, a passionate working-class activist and public speaker, or the upper middle-class Pethick Lawrence couple, who devoted a lot of energy and resources to the struggle) are described in considerable detail.
I was impressed by the determination and organisational skills of the suffragettes. They were willing to endure hardship and go to prison for their cause, and they even made advance plans about who was going to be arrested depending on each member's circumstances. They also supported newer members by offering them training in demonstrations and altercations with the police. Their publicising and fund-raising skills were second-to-none.
It is surprising that suffragettes had very little support within the House Of Commons where (male) MPs mostly denounced, ridiculed, and humiliated them for their audacity to request the vote. Without the utter determination of the movement members, the vote would not have been won (except perhaps much later and in a much more diluted form). It is also of note that the suffragettes encountered hostility from the majority of ordinary men who apparently felt threatened by the prospect of votes of women.
2018 is celebrated as the centenary of voting rights for women (even though only propertied women over 30 actually won the vote that year, which, cruelly, excluded some of the most important working-class suffragettes). However, I think that apart for being a cause for celebration, the centenary might also be an occasion to re-appraise the reasons for that campaign's success. Persistence; perseverance; enormous organisation skills; all this has to be part of the answer, in my view. It is also worth pondering about tactics in light of the two wings within the suffragette movement, one of which advocated confrontation with the establishment whereas the other preferred to work within the establishment.
In The Militant Suffragettes the story of the movement is presented in a linear manner and thorough detail (which sometimes makes it a bit hard-going), so it may not be entirely suitable for readers who are just beginning to learn about the suffragettes. That said, it is an invaluable resource for those who want a detailed document of the movement.
I was impressed by the determination and organisational skills of the suffragettes. They were willing to endure hardship and go to prison for their cause, and they even made advance plans about who was going to be arrested depending on each member's circumstances. They also supported newer members by offering them training in demonstrations and altercations with the police. Their publicising and fund-raising skills were second-to-none.
It is surprising that suffragettes had very little support within the House Of Commons where (male) MPs mostly denounced, ridiculed, and humiliated them for their audacity to request the vote. Without the utter determination of the movement members, the vote would not have been won (except perhaps much later and in a much more diluted form). It is also of note that the suffragettes encountered hostility from the majority of ordinary men who apparently felt threatened by the prospect of votes of women.
2018 is celebrated as the centenary of voting rights for women (even though only propertied women over 30 actually won the vote that year, which, cruelly, excluded some of the most important working-class suffragettes). However, I think that apart for being a cause for celebration, the centenary might also be an occasion to re-appraise the reasons for that campaign's success. Persistence; perseverance; enormous organisation skills; all this has to be part of the answer, in my view. It is also worth pondering about tactics in light of the two wings within the suffragette movement, one of which advocated confrontation with the establishment whereas the other preferred to work within the establishment.
In The Militant Suffragettes the story of the movement is presented in a linear manner and thorough detail (which sometimes makes it a bit hard-going), so it may not be entirely suitable for readers who are just beginning to learn about the suffragettes. That said, it is an invaluable resource for those who want a detailed document of the movement.
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June 14, 2016The top 10 books about the suffragettes
(1974)
This was the first book I picked up on suffragettes and as an introduction to the violent and imaginative activities of the WSPU it’s brilliant. Anecdotes include that of Isabel Kelley - a daredevil who concealed herself on the roof of Dundee’s Kinnaird Hall for 17 hours before breaking in via scaffolding and a skylight - and the creation of an armed guard, wielding wooden clubs for protection of high-level WSPU speakers.
(1974)
This was the first book I picked up on suffragettes and as an introduction to the violent and imaginative activities of the WSPU it’s brilliant. Anecdotes include that of Isabel Kelley - a daredevil who concealed herself on the roof of Dundee’s Kinnaird Hall for 17 hours before breaking in via scaffolding and a skylight - and the creation of an armed guard, wielding wooden clubs for protection of high-level WSPU speakers.
January 27, 2018
I knew very little about the struggle for voting by UK women.
This book enlightened me on this topic.
I admire the courage of all the British women who struggled to get the vote.
This book enlightened me on this topic.
I admire the courage of all the British women who struggled to get the vote.
April 6, 2019
Extremely well-written account of the fight for women to have the vote. Very readable with the added benefit that, having been written in the early 1970s, there are first-hand accounts given by suffragettes that were still alive. Strongly recommended. I found my copy in a small second-hand bookshop.
May 25, 2021
Best book I've read on the militant faction of the Suffragette movement. A little aged and difficult to find though.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews