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Hearts And Minds: The Untold Story of the Great Pilgrimage and How Women Won the Vote
Set against the colourful background of the entire campaign for women to win the vote, Hearts and Minds tells the remarkable and inspiring story of the suffragists' march on London.
1913: the last long summer before the war. The country is gripped by suffragette fever. These impassioned crusaders have their admirers; some agree with their aims if not their forceful methods, while others are aghast at the thought of giving any female a vote.
Meanwhile, hundreds of women are stepping out on to the streets of Britain. They are the suffragists: non-militant campaigners for the vote, on an astonishing six-week protest march they call the Great Pilgrimage. Rich and poor, young and old, they defy convention, risking jobs, family relationships and even their lives to persuade the country to listen to them.
This is a story of ordinary people effecting extraordinary change. By turns dangerous, exhausting and exhilarating, the Great Pilgrimage transformed the personal and political lives of women in Britain for ever. Jane Robinson has drawn from diaries, letters and unpublished accounts to tell the inside story of the march, against the colourful background of the entire suffrage campaign.
Fresh and original, full of vivid detail and moments of high drama, Hearts and Minds is both funny and incredibly moving, important and wonderfully entertaining.
1913: the last long summer before the war. The country is gripped by suffragette fever. These impassioned crusaders have their admirers; some agree with their aims if not their forceful methods, while others are aghast at the thought of giving any female a vote.
Meanwhile, hundreds of women are stepping out on to the streets of Britain. They are the suffragists: non-militant campaigners for the vote, on an astonishing six-week protest march they call the Great Pilgrimage. Rich and poor, young and old, they defy convention, risking jobs, family relationships and even their lives to persuade the country to listen to them.
This is a story of ordinary people effecting extraordinary change. By turns dangerous, exhausting and exhilarating, the Great Pilgrimage transformed the personal and political lives of women in Britain for ever. Jane Robinson has drawn from diaries, letters and unpublished accounts to tell the inside story of the march, against the colourful background of the entire suffrage campaign.
Fresh and original, full of vivid detail and moments of high drama, Hearts and Minds is both funny and incredibly moving, important and wonderfully entertaining.
400 pages, ebook
First published January 11, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
March 11, 2018
Jane Robinson has written several excellent books, mainly detailing the less covered aspects of female history. These include “Bluestockings,” “A Force to be Reckoned With,” and “Unsuitable for Ladies.” In her latest work, she turns her attention to women’s fight for the vote. At the centre of this book is ‘The Great Pilgrimage,’ a six week march to London, organised by the NUWSS, a suffragist group.
The book begins with the simple statement that it is about, ‘ordinary people doing extraordinary things for the sake of democracy.’ Certainly, this six week protest march, just before WWI, helped to show that politicians were wrong when they stated that most women did not want the vote. It also helped repair the image of suffrage and showed that many people were not against the vote, but wary of the more militant suffragettes. Indeed, I did not realise that there were so many different associations and groups all involved in the fight to gain women equal rights.
Along the way we meet many different women, from many walks of life. There are those pelted by rotten eggs or stones, those attacked in the caravans they slept in, force fed in prison and generally seen as mentally unbalanced and going against God and men. They suffered misunderstanding, abuse, riots, hardship – but they also experienced comradeship, a sense of belonging and achievement, which they were often unable to experience elsewhere.
Robinson gives a history of the fight for women’s rights along the way. From Mary Woolstonecraft, through Emily Davison and to the changes brought by WWI, on to eventual success, we read of this very long struggle. Although, of course, we realise that women will win the vote, it was, to those involved, not a certainty at all. Their attempts to draw attention to the cause was constantly ignored – politicians placated and condescended, but were deeply resistant. The Representation of the People Act on 6 February, 2018, gave only some women the vote – but it set ajar the door which is still being fully pushed open today. We should, though, all celebrate the women in this book and the author for telling their stories.
The book begins with the simple statement that it is about, ‘ordinary people doing extraordinary things for the sake of democracy.’ Certainly, this six week protest march, just before WWI, helped to show that politicians were wrong when they stated that most women did not want the vote. It also helped repair the image of suffrage and showed that many people were not against the vote, but wary of the more militant suffragettes. Indeed, I did not realise that there were so many different associations and groups all involved in the fight to gain women equal rights.
Along the way we meet many different women, from many walks of life. There are those pelted by rotten eggs or stones, those attacked in the caravans they slept in, force fed in prison and generally seen as mentally unbalanced and going against God and men. They suffered misunderstanding, abuse, riots, hardship – but they also experienced comradeship, a sense of belonging and achievement, which they were often unable to experience elsewhere.
Robinson gives a history of the fight for women’s rights along the way. From Mary Woolstonecraft, through Emily Davison and to the changes brought by WWI, on to eventual success, we read of this very long struggle. Although, of course, we realise that women will win the vote, it was, to those involved, not a certainty at all. Their attempts to draw attention to the cause was constantly ignored – politicians placated and condescended, but were deeply resistant. The Representation of the People Act on 6 February, 2018, gave only some women the vote – but it set ajar the door which is still being fully pushed open today. We should, though, all celebrate the women in this book and the author for telling their stories.
March 29, 2018
Votes for Women! Those three words caused such worry and fretting in British society of the 19th and early 20th century. Today it seems hardly possible that women had to fight for something so simple and basic given the wide-ranging suffrage all women over 18 now have.
This book, with admirable readability and story telling, provides not just a good introduction to those early years from 1830ish and into the 1880s and 1890s when suffrage societies began to form, but also the personalities and groups who lobbied, protested and even fought for the vote in the 1890s and 1900s; many more societies and groups than the Pankhursts' well-known Women's Social & Political Union (WSPU). The majority of these were non-violent (so suffragist) as opposed to the militant/violent WSPU (suffragette). There were even men's groups supporting women; as indeed there were women's groups opposed to universal suffrage.
The author does a good job of telling that evolving story and especially as the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies (NUWSS) and the WSPU come into being in 1897 and 19803 respectively. This story includes the activities and interaction with politicians as well as the press reporting and how people on all sides of the argument reacted. This included meetings, pamphlets and petitions - one for example with 257,000 signatures in 1906; the year the term suffragette is first used and arrests are made at a march.
As the WSPU stepped up it's campaign of militant (and extremely violent) action the NUWSS continued its own work. The government made small or no promises. "Society" (read institution and establishment) didn't see the need for women to have the vote: it might upset them or the pressure or responsibility of voting might make them ill; even possibly they wouldn't understand the complexity.
The WSPU continued to violence including window breaking, stone throwing, arson and bombing and death threats. Arrests were made: both suffragettes and suffragists - tricky too if you're a suffragist as to the police, the courts and the establishment your were a suffragette and so game for a kicking and prison. That stint in prison was itself degrading, violent and inhumane as the ladies (mostly) went on hunger strike and were force fed by tubes up noses and into stomachs; and yes even tubes in the anal passage into the bowel. This lead to pleurisy, infections, sepsis, heart trouble as well as broken teeth, broken bones and internal tears and damage.
Seeking to find both a different approach as well as to distance themselves, the NUWSS came up with the idea of the Great Pilgrimage that would, from routes starting far away from London, converge on Hyde Park in July 1913.
This pilgrimage was a marvel of planning and organisation as routes, lodgings, meetings, bicycle riders, (to go ahead and confirm fields, lodgings and meeting rooms), horse-drawn caravans and a few cars to carry luggage, speakers, rations, laundry, rendezvous points (with other groups and routes) along with publicity, publicity materials and merchandise were all put in place or made. The pre-pilgrimage work and the brilliant precision in which it ran proved women could ably manage complex things well.
Along the routes the women found themselves attracting new members but also finding much about their own abilities and capabilities as well as making friends for life. They did too however also suffer much barracking and abuse, some very violent including being kicked, punched, spat at and even possible sexual harassment and assault.
Five weeks later and hundreds of miles of walking done in the cases of women from Scotland, the North, Wales and South West converged from six main routes some 50,000 suffragists who rallied at Hyde Park on 26th July. There were 78 speakers who addressed the crowd from 19 platforms and at 18:00 hours they voted unanimously passing the motion "That this meeting demands a Government measure for the enfranchisement of women".
After the pilgrimage things moved and politicians suggested their could be room for a bill...but then war intervened. Arguably the First World War 1914-18 helped as women came out and did their bit on the home front and further afield. Leading to the partial franchise for women in 1918 and full suffrage in 1926.
Of real interest to me throughout this book was the women. Their backgrounds, their deeds and involvement in the suffrage campaign, but also during WWI and after. Many not only served in but created and fitted out war hospitals that were not just in Britain but on the front-line in Italy, the Balkans and Russia for example. Others served in administration roles or provided charity, and many worked in factories or on the land. In later life they achieved great things becoming MPs, Dames of the Empire, doctors, writers, administrators, charity workers, women's and human rights champions, food experts (in WWII) and founding or being instrumental in groups such as the Women's Institute.
I had read books about suffrage and indeed the suffragettes and the Pankhursts before, but never about the great pilgrimage and the women who organised, set out and completed the great march. It was an outstanding achievement and something that should be better known and celebrated.
Overall, I left this book thinking how the vote today is a "thing" and how few women (and certainly men) in Britain probably know much if anything outside the Pankhursts, suffragette and Emily Davison.
To me the ladies of the NUWSS and those on the pilgrimage are wonderful, courageous, committed, determined, supportive and generous people. I hope my ancestors were among them.
One lady said of that march in later life that it was her club, her team, her regiment - as a former solider I understand that and the sense of pride they had. I also recognise and respect the sacrifices they made, and the best way for me and others to remember them is to continue to champion equality for women across society and of course put an X on the ballot paper.
Votes for Women!
This book, with admirable readability and story telling, provides not just a good introduction to those early years from 1830ish and into the 1880s and 1890s when suffrage societies began to form, but also the personalities and groups who lobbied, protested and even fought for the vote in the 1890s and 1900s; many more societies and groups than the Pankhursts' well-known Women's Social & Political Union (WSPU). The majority of these were non-violent (so suffragist) as opposed to the militant/violent WSPU (suffragette). There were even men's groups supporting women; as indeed there were women's groups opposed to universal suffrage.
The author does a good job of telling that evolving story and especially as the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies (NUWSS) and the WSPU come into being in 1897 and 19803 respectively. This story includes the activities and interaction with politicians as well as the press reporting and how people on all sides of the argument reacted. This included meetings, pamphlets and petitions - one for example with 257,000 signatures in 1906; the year the term suffragette is first used and arrests are made at a march.
As the WSPU stepped up it's campaign of militant (and extremely violent) action the NUWSS continued its own work. The government made small or no promises. "Society" (read institution and establishment) didn't see the need for women to have the vote: it might upset them or the pressure or responsibility of voting might make them ill; even possibly they wouldn't understand the complexity.
The WSPU continued to violence including window breaking, stone throwing, arson and bombing and death threats. Arrests were made: both suffragettes and suffragists - tricky too if you're a suffragist as to the police, the courts and the establishment your were a suffragette and so game for a kicking and prison. That stint in prison was itself degrading, violent and inhumane as the ladies (mostly) went on hunger strike and were force fed by tubes up noses and into stomachs; and yes even tubes in the anal passage into the bowel. This lead to pleurisy, infections, sepsis, heart trouble as well as broken teeth, broken bones and internal tears and damage.
Seeking to find both a different approach as well as to distance themselves, the NUWSS came up with the idea of the Great Pilgrimage that would, from routes starting far away from London, converge on Hyde Park in July 1913.
This pilgrimage was a marvel of planning and organisation as routes, lodgings, meetings, bicycle riders, (to go ahead and confirm fields, lodgings and meeting rooms), horse-drawn caravans and a few cars to carry luggage, speakers, rations, laundry, rendezvous points (with other groups and routes) along with publicity, publicity materials and merchandise were all put in place or made. The pre-pilgrimage work and the brilliant precision in which it ran proved women could ably manage complex things well.
Along the routes the women found themselves attracting new members but also finding much about their own abilities and capabilities as well as making friends for life. They did too however also suffer much barracking and abuse, some very violent including being kicked, punched, spat at and even possible sexual harassment and assault.
Five weeks later and hundreds of miles of walking done in the cases of women from Scotland, the North, Wales and South West converged from six main routes some 50,000 suffragists who rallied at Hyde Park on 26th July. There were 78 speakers who addressed the crowd from 19 platforms and at 18:00 hours they voted unanimously passing the motion "That this meeting demands a Government measure for the enfranchisement of women".
After the pilgrimage things moved and politicians suggested their could be room for a bill...but then war intervened. Arguably the First World War 1914-18 helped as women came out and did their bit on the home front and further afield. Leading to the partial franchise for women in 1918 and full suffrage in 1926.
Of real interest to me throughout this book was the women. Their backgrounds, their deeds and involvement in the suffrage campaign, but also during WWI and after. Many not only served in but created and fitted out war hospitals that were not just in Britain but on the front-line in Italy, the Balkans and Russia for example. Others served in administration roles or provided charity, and many worked in factories or on the land. In later life they achieved great things becoming MPs, Dames of the Empire, doctors, writers, administrators, charity workers, women's and human rights champions, food experts (in WWII) and founding or being instrumental in groups such as the Women's Institute.
I had read books about suffrage and indeed the suffragettes and the Pankhursts before, but never about the great pilgrimage and the women who organised, set out and completed the great march. It was an outstanding achievement and something that should be better known and celebrated.
Overall, I left this book thinking how the vote today is a "thing" and how few women (and certainly men) in Britain probably know much if anything outside the Pankhursts, suffragette and Emily Davison.
To me the ladies of the NUWSS and those on the pilgrimage are wonderful, courageous, committed, determined, supportive and generous people. I hope my ancestors were among them.
One lady said of that march in later life that it was her club, her team, her regiment - as a former solider I understand that and the sense of pride they had. I also recognise and respect the sacrifices they made, and the best way for me and others to remember them is to continue to champion equality for women across society and of course put an X on the ballot paper.
Votes for Women!
February 24, 2020
Having very much enjoyed Jane Robinson's Bluestockings some years ago, I felt that it was high time I picked up another of her books. I found the prolific author's tenth book - Hearts and Minds: The Untold Story of the Great Pilgrimage and How Women Won the Vote - on a jaunt to my local library, and settled down to read it on a grey afternoon.
The idea behind Hearts and Minds fascinated me. I have always been so interested in the suffrage movement, but Robinson had found an element of it which I had never before learnt about. This surprises me, as I have studied it in detail over the years; the Great Pilgrimage just seems to be a largely overlooked event, for reasons unbeknownst to me. I agree wholeheartedly with Robinson's commentary on the Great Pilgrimage; she calls it 'one of the most inspiring and neglected episodes in British history.'
In the summer of 1913, the year before the outbreak of the First World War, Britain became 'gripped by suffragette fever'. This was the year in which the Great Pilgrimage took place. It was planned by the peaceful non-militant suffragist group, the National Union of Women's Suffrage (NUWSS), who were keen to create as much distance as possible between themselves and the militant suffragettes. The often increasingly violent acts of the suffragettes made them seem a larger group than they were; rather, the suffragettes were a minority, albeit one who gained a lot of attention in the media, and in the country at large. As Robinson writes, the suffragettes' 'confrontational approach distracted public attention from the imaginative and quietly courageous work done by tens of thousands of others across Britain... [The suffragists] were just as determined about emancipation... but more persuasive.' The suffragists wished to set themselves apart once and for all, and planned the Great Pilgrimage to be 'as much as a march against militancy as it was for women's rights.'
Thousands of women took to the streets to try to win equal suffrage. These women, from all over the country, 'embarked on an astonishing six-week protest march they called the Great Pilgrimage. Rich and poor, young and old, they defy convention', and happily gave up 'jobs, family relationships, and even their lives to persuade the country to listen to them.' Their journey was at once 'dangerous, exhausting and exhilarating', and paved the way to alter the lives of British women forever. Their march was beset by problems from the outset, from vandalism of their property, to physical violence meted out by those who disagreed that women should be given equal suffrage.
The women who participated in the Great Pilgrimage were largely unknown. High-profile suffragists marched amongst them, but for the most part the women left their small towns and villages all over the country to show their solidarity. Of these women, Robinson notes: 'Many of the people who feature in this book were not thought important enough to record in official chronicles of the fight for the vote, or were too modest to imagine anyone being interested in who they were.' Robinson also writes, although not always at great length, about the hundreds of men who supported the cause, many of whom set out to march with the women along part of the route.
The march took six different routes from all corners of Britain - Carlisle, Newcastle, Yarmouth, Portsmouth, and Brighton, amongst other locations - converging in a final push upon London. Smaller routes fed into these larger ones 'like tributaries, all flowing to the capital city.' It began in the middle of June, and went on until the end of July. The different groups of participants had to stop many times along the way in order to hold meetings with locals, trying to convert the more stubborn to their cause.
In Hearts and Minds, Robinson weaves together extracts from diaries, letters, and unpublished accounts, framing these within the wider context of the suffrage movement, and the United Kingdom's political landscape. She spans a vast period, from the publication of Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of Woman in 1792, and thoroughly explores 'a story of ordinary people' who brought about 'extraordinary change'. In her introduction, Robinson sets out the social constraints of early twentieth-century Britain in a succinct manner, and continually points out the importance of the Great Pilgrimage. It at last gave women, who were denied a voice, 'the authority to challenge the domestic stereotype'. Although women did not receive equal suffrage until 1928, the Great Pilgrimage was a series of small steps, which made an enormous difference.
Hearts and Minds is incredibly thorough, and so easy to read. Robinson sets out the birth of both suffrage groups in great detail, and also offers biographical information about several of the women who were there from the very beginning. The attention which Robinson gives to setting the scene, indeed, is so thorough, that the Great Pilgrimage is not explored in any detail until the middle of the book.
Hearts and Minds is inspiring, filled as it is with so many selfless women - and men - who advanced a cause of vital importance, and changed Britain for the better. They ensured, en masse, that their voices were heard, and their determination is heartening. This is another highly engaging book from a wonderful historian, and I am very much looking forward to exploring the rest of her oeuvre in the months to come.
The idea behind Hearts and Minds fascinated me. I have always been so interested in the suffrage movement, but Robinson had found an element of it which I had never before learnt about. This surprises me, as I have studied it in detail over the years; the Great Pilgrimage just seems to be a largely overlooked event, for reasons unbeknownst to me. I agree wholeheartedly with Robinson's commentary on the Great Pilgrimage; she calls it 'one of the most inspiring and neglected episodes in British history.'
In the summer of 1913, the year before the outbreak of the First World War, Britain became 'gripped by suffragette fever'. This was the year in which the Great Pilgrimage took place. It was planned by the peaceful non-militant suffragist group, the National Union of Women's Suffrage (NUWSS), who were keen to create as much distance as possible between themselves and the militant suffragettes. The often increasingly violent acts of the suffragettes made them seem a larger group than they were; rather, the suffragettes were a minority, albeit one who gained a lot of attention in the media, and in the country at large. As Robinson writes, the suffragettes' 'confrontational approach distracted public attention from the imaginative and quietly courageous work done by tens of thousands of others across Britain... [The suffragists] were just as determined about emancipation... but more persuasive.' The suffragists wished to set themselves apart once and for all, and planned the Great Pilgrimage to be 'as much as a march against militancy as it was for women's rights.'
Thousands of women took to the streets to try to win equal suffrage. These women, from all over the country, 'embarked on an astonishing six-week protest march they called the Great Pilgrimage. Rich and poor, young and old, they defy convention', and happily gave up 'jobs, family relationships, and even their lives to persuade the country to listen to them.' Their journey was at once 'dangerous, exhausting and exhilarating', and paved the way to alter the lives of British women forever. Their march was beset by problems from the outset, from vandalism of their property, to physical violence meted out by those who disagreed that women should be given equal suffrage.
The women who participated in the Great Pilgrimage were largely unknown. High-profile suffragists marched amongst them, but for the most part the women left their small towns and villages all over the country to show their solidarity. Of these women, Robinson notes: 'Many of the people who feature in this book were not thought important enough to record in official chronicles of the fight for the vote, or were too modest to imagine anyone being interested in who they were.' Robinson also writes, although not always at great length, about the hundreds of men who supported the cause, many of whom set out to march with the women along part of the route.
The march took six different routes from all corners of Britain - Carlisle, Newcastle, Yarmouth, Portsmouth, and Brighton, amongst other locations - converging in a final push upon London. Smaller routes fed into these larger ones 'like tributaries, all flowing to the capital city.' It began in the middle of June, and went on until the end of July. The different groups of participants had to stop many times along the way in order to hold meetings with locals, trying to convert the more stubborn to their cause.
In Hearts and Minds, Robinson weaves together extracts from diaries, letters, and unpublished accounts, framing these within the wider context of the suffrage movement, and the United Kingdom's political landscape. She spans a vast period, from the publication of Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of Woman in 1792, and thoroughly explores 'a story of ordinary people' who brought about 'extraordinary change'. In her introduction, Robinson sets out the social constraints of early twentieth-century Britain in a succinct manner, and continually points out the importance of the Great Pilgrimage. It at last gave women, who were denied a voice, 'the authority to challenge the domestic stereotype'. Although women did not receive equal suffrage until 1928, the Great Pilgrimage was a series of small steps, which made an enormous difference.
Hearts and Minds is incredibly thorough, and so easy to read. Robinson sets out the birth of both suffrage groups in great detail, and also offers biographical information about several of the women who were there from the very beginning. The attention which Robinson gives to setting the scene, indeed, is so thorough, that the Great Pilgrimage is not explored in any detail until the middle of the book.
Hearts and Minds is inspiring, filled as it is with so many selfless women - and men - who advanced a cause of vital importance, and changed Britain for the better. They ensured, en masse, that their voices were heard, and their determination is heartening. This is another highly engaging book from a wonderful historian, and I am very much looking forward to exploring the rest of her oeuvre in the months to come.
April 5, 2018
Hearts and Minds looks at the stories of the ordinary women of the suffrage campaign with more of an emphasis on the work of the suffragist movement. I loved it because it gave me a real insight into the suffragist campaign which I never knew much about and having read this book I was all the poorer for not knowing more about them. Their efforts and resilience was amazing and I was over awed learning about the efforts they went to to secure women the vote, tackling the issue in a calmer manner than their militant counterparts in the suffragettes. I particularly loved learning about the role of Elizabeth Garrett Andersen in the campiaign having only come across her previously as the first women to qualify as a doctor in the UK.
I also loved this book because of the stories of individuals involved with the campaign, both suffragette and suffragist such as the story of the suffragette who refused to wear her prison outfit as a protest for not being treated as a political prisoner and sat in her cell naked and when they authorities tried to put her in a straitjacket as a punishment she was so slim that she just wriggled out of it.
In short I loved it and I can definitely see me picking up my own copy sooner rather than later.
I also loved this book because of the stories of individuals involved with the campaign, both suffragette and suffragist such as the story of the suffragette who refused to wear her prison outfit as a protest for not being treated as a political prisoner and sat in her cell naked and when they authorities tried to put her in a straitjacket as a punishment she was so slim that she just wriggled out of it.
In short I loved it and I can definitely see me picking up my own copy sooner rather than later.
January 27, 2018
The story of the suffrage movement is something that most people in Britain are somewhat familiar. I mean, it’s not at King-Henry-the-Eighth-or-1066-common-historical-knowledge level, but mention the name ‘Pankhurst’ and there’s normally a pang of recognition.
That’s a bit of a problem. Not that I don’t LOVE the Pankhursts, I do, but they hog more than half of the popular suffrage historiography. Suffragettes conjure that iconic image–the white, green and purple, mass marches, window smashing and force-feeding. But they are only one part of an immensely complicated story. The NUWSS (National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies), led by the indomitable Millicent Fawcett, and the many other niche suffrage organisations representing a wide variety of professions and interests (my personal fav is the Gymnastic Teachers‘Suffrage Society), also contributed so much to the fight for the vote.
This is why books like HEARTS AND MINDS are so important. Jane Robinson begins the book by clearly and entertainingly situating the suffrage campaign in context, giving the reader a chronological overview of the suffrage campaign, right from the early organised campaigns in the 19th century. This means that the complexities and convoluted-ness of the campaign for women’s suffrage are clear right from the get go. This is SO great! Not only is this book extremely well-researched and highly readable, but Jane Robinson peppers her points with excellently insightful first hand accounts of suffrage occasions, events and incidents. Also, her witty and often-funny analysis makes for a very enjoyable reading experience.
So, onto the meat of the book: the Great Pilgrimage. As somebody who loves ALL THINGS SUFFRAGE, I am ashamed to say that I didn’t know a tonne about this fascinating event in suffrage history. Jane Robinson approaches the writing of the pilgrimage with passion, illuminating the successes and challenges of this spectacular walk through the prism of the participants. We’re introduced to suffrage campaigners new and experienced, young and old, well-known and virtually invisible to history. The diversity of walkers on all the routes is great, and I was really excited to read about some women I hadn’t heard of.
Jane also looks at the aftermath of the pilgrimage, charting the suffrage campaign all the way through to the gritty end, and speculating what impact the pilgrimage eventually had on the partial enfranchisement of women in 1918.
So, whilst HEARTS AND MINDS may be the first of many suffrage books out this year, it is spectacular popular history–not only of the the Great Pilgrimage, but of suffrage more generally. However, that doesn’t take away from the fact that the Great Pilgrimage is researched and written in a thoroughly engaging way–this is history at its best; illuminating previously forgotten events. Jane Robinson writes excellently–she is clear, to the point, and witty. As such, this is a book that you can’t put down, an excellent read for suffrage enthusiasts and those who know nothing about suffrage history alike.
That’s a bit of a problem. Not that I don’t LOVE the Pankhursts, I do, but they hog more than half of the popular suffrage historiography. Suffragettes conjure that iconic image–the white, green and purple, mass marches, window smashing and force-feeding. But they are only one part of an immensely complicated story. The NUWSS (National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies), led by the indomitable Millicent Fawcett, and the many other niche suffrage organisations representing a wide variety of professions and interests (my personal fav is the Gymnastic Teachers‘Suffrage Society), also contributed so much to the fight for the vote.
This is why books like HEARTS AND MINDS are so important. Jane Robinson begins the book by clearly and entertainingly situating the suffrage campaign in context, giving the reader a chronological overview of the suffrage campaign, right from the early organised campaigns in the 19th century. This means that the complexities and convoluted-ness of the campaign for women’s suffrage are clear right from the get go. This is SO great! Not only is this book extremely well-researched and highly readable, but Jane Robinson peppers her points with excellently insightful first hand accounts of suffrage occasions, events and incidents. Also, her witty and often-funny analysis makes for a very enjoyable reading experience.
So, onto the meat of the book: the Great Pilgrimage. As somebody who loves ALL THINGS SUFFRAGE, I am ashamed to say that I didn’t know a tonne about this fascinating event in suffrage history. Jane Robinson approaches the writing of the pilgrimage with passion, illuminating the successes and challenges of this spectacular walk through the prism of the participants. We’re introduced to suffrage campaigners new and experienced, young and old, well-known and virtually invisible to history. The diversity of walkers on all the routes is great, and I was really excited to read about some women I hadn’t heard of.
Jane also looks at the aftermath of the pilgrimage, charting the suffrage campaign all the way through to the gritty end, and speculating what impact the pilgrimage eventually had on the partial enfranchisement of women in 1918.
So, whilst HEARTS AND MINDS may be the first of many suffrage books out this year, it is spectacular popular history–not only of the the Great Pilgrimage, but of suffrage more generally. However, that doesn’t take away from the fact that the Great Pilgrimage is researched and written in a thoroughly engaging way–this is history at its best; illuminating previously forgotten events. Jane Robinson writes excellently–she is clear, to the point, and witty. As such, this is a book that you can’t put down, an excellent read for suffrage enthusiasts and those who know nothing about suffrage history alike.
February 19, 2018
In 1913 the Suffragists organised a multi-pronged march to London to demonstrate their dedication to the cause and that their protest was a peaceful one. It culminated in a rally in Hyde Park attended by thousands. In this book Robinson looks at the difference between Suffragettes and Suffragists and the struggle for women's rights that both fought so hard for. This was fascinating as I'd not heard of the Great Pilgrimage before and the 'gists have been overshadowed by the 'gettes for so long. This is a must-read for anyone interested in women's history.
March 8, 2018
This is a well researched and very readable account of the suffragist's part in the long, long women's suffrage campaign, with particular emphasis on the Great Pilgrimage of 1913. This is not a completely 'rounded' view of the struggle towards extending the franchise as full detail of the more militant suffragette campaign is not covered in great detail. As the author says in the book, that story has been told by others. Instead Jane Robinson seeks to redress the balance and to tell the stories of many, many women from all walks of life who campaigned tirelessly and peacefully and suggests that their long struggle eventually bore fruit whereas the more militant approach may in fact have actually prolonged the struggle. I really enjoyed this account, with much of the information having been gleaned from personal accounts in diaries etc and from family information as well as local and national newspaper reports. I thought I knew how the vote was won, it turns out I didn't. I would urge others to read this one.
March 9, 2018
The main event of this book is the NUWSS organised pilgrimage of suffragists from all over the country to London in the Summer of 1913, but it also covers the complete history of the women's suffrage movement, including the WSPU's militant campaign. I thought the author covered the subject well and it was very interesting to contrast the two campaign strategies, how they developed and why they adopted such different approaches.
There are several personal stories of different women involved in the campaigns and the pilgrimage itself. At first I thought there were too many of these, but they do help to show how many different levels of society were involved.
Jane Robinson writes in a way which is both informative and accessible. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in British political history and women's history, particularly if they think they already know about this issue.
There are several personal stories of different women involved in the campaigns and the pilgrimage itself. At first I thought there were too many of these, but they do help to show how many different levels of society were involved.
Jane Robinson writes in a way which is both informative and accessible. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in British political history and women's history, particularly if they think they already know about this issue.
March 13, 2018
An excellent history, not just of the 1913 Pilgrimage but of the suffrage movement leading up to and following it. While covering the lives and work of the suffrage celebrities (Millicent Fawcett, the Pankhursts), much of the interest is in the experiences of the 'ordinary women', many of them taken from contemporary diaries and letters.
The author reveals early on that she is of the view that the battle was won through the work of the suffragists and that the actions of the suffragettes were ultimately unhelpful; but she writes evenhandedly about their activities and about the appalling treatment meted out to the suffragettes by the British government.
Reading this book has made me want to go out and support a Cause immediately and it is a potent reminder to all British women not to take our enfranchisement for granted.
The author reveals early on that she is of the view that the battle was won through the work of the suffragists and that the actions of the suffragettes were ultimately unhelpful; but she writes evenhandedly about their activities and about the appalling treatment meted out to the suffragettes by the British government.
Reading this book has made me want to go out and support a Cause immediately and it is a potent reminder to all British women not to take our enfranchisement for granted.
April 8, 2018
In the year marking the centenary of the first women gaining the vote, this account provides a fascinating reminder of how hard the struggle for enfranchisement was, and the courage displayed by women from all backgrounds as they worked together to turn the tide of public opinion in their favour.
Jane Robinson's excellent book centres around the Great Pilgrimage organised by the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies (NUWSS) in 1913, when women from all over the country made their way to London, holding meetings and distributing leaflets, facing hecklers and physical attacks, aiming to show those in power that women were reasonable people who needed the vote in order to influence decisions that affected them and their families. These are suffragists, to be distinguished from the more militant suffragettes led by Emmeline Pankhurst, and Robinson provides a handy and eye-opening list of all the different organisations on both sides.
This is a book full of fascinating detail of 'ordinary people doing extraordinary things' with entertaining anecdotes of fun and resilience alongside tragic stories of force-feeding and other physical abuse. Robinson also examines the role played by the suffragists during WWI and afterwards, showing how many of them carried on dedicating their lives to public service. It is an inspiring and moving account of one of the most important political movements ever, and the amazing characters whose efforts won the vote for women.
Jane Robinson's excellent book centres around the Great Pilgrimage organised by the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies (NUWSS) in 1913, when women from all over the country made their way to London, holding meetings and distributing leaflets, facing hecklers and physical attacks, aiming to show those in power that women were reasonable people who needed the vote in order to influence decisions that affected them and their families. These are suffragists, to be distinguished from the more militant suffragettes led by Emmeline Pankhurst, and Robinson provides a handy and eye-opening list of all the different organisations on both sides.
This is a book full of fascinating detail of 'ordinary people doing extraordinary things' with entertaining anecdotes of fun and resilience alongside tragic stories of force-feeding and other physical abuse. Robinson also examines the role played by the suffragists during WWI and afterwards, showing how many of them carried on dedicating their lives to public service. It is an inspiring and moving account of one of the most important political movements ever, and the amazing characters whose efforts won the vote for women.
December 25, 2019
A super book to read to educate yourself on the distinction between suffraGISTs and suffraGETTEs. My mine takeaway from this is: Use your vote! (Spoil the ballot if you don’t like your candidates but use your vote.) Your privilege to have one was costly.
March 6, 2019
There was nothing threatening about The Great Pilgrimage. It would be a good natured appeal to reason and nothing to do with force thus differentiating the 'gists' from the 'gettes'. It was the suffragists answer to both the fanaticism of the militants and their own apparent lack of heroism. A statement of belief in the power of women and their ability , when working together, to turn the world upside down without violence or hatred. An important book on the ordinary women determined to achieve the vote for women.
I was introduced to Jane Robinson's work a long time ago when I read her fantastic book on Mary Seacole. I've been looking forward to reading this book for a while so I chose it for my reading book group choice. I attended an event in Sheffield for the Off The Shelf in sept last year where Jane discussed this book. I had heard of the Great Pilgrimage in passing but didn't know much about it. It is great that an historian has concentrated on the ordinary women and the Suffragists because their stories have not been told. All we are told at school is how women were thrown in prison and forced to eat for their fight for the vote. but this ignores the thousands of other women who did not take part in violence.
I didn't know that New Zealand was the first country to enfranchise women in 1893.
Didn't know that at the beginning of the Twentieth Century there was a commission of inquiry into how the British had run atrociously inhuman camps for interned Boer women and children.
Love quote from Chapter 4, from Sarah Leeds, elected Mayor of Oldham in 1910. When asked what she thought if those who voted against her she replied "Men have a perfectly right to their opinion." "They also have a perfectly right to change it."
Mr Winston Churchill is always portrayed has a hero. He wasn't very honourable to the women on Black Friday refusing to condemn the police for sexually assaulting a number of protectors.
Loved the stories around the women who attended the Great Pilgrimage. Written in a humorous way..Some of them are heart warming while others are saddening. Shameful to learn that a lot of the women were insulted or assaulted on the way. Heartening to learn that they didn't give up when they were threatened by violence.
Gruesome detail of how some of the suffragettes were treated by prison officials. A part of British history where we should look back in shame.
Summary: this book was well researched. Some critics have mentioned that there was too much detail. I didn't find this to be the case and was engrossed in the book from the start. The author really brought the characters to life and in some areas she wrote with a great sense of humour. The book is an important read and brings to light what a struggle it was for women to win the vote. For me, it has confirmed how we should not be complacent with our human rights because there will always be someone or something who is determined to take these away.
I was introduced to Jane Robinson's work a long time ago when I read her fantastic book on Mary Seacole. I've been looking forward to reading this book for a while so I chose it for my reading book group choice. I attended an event in Sheffield for the Off The Shelf in sept last year where Jane discussed this book. I had heard of the Great Pilgrimage in passing but didn't know much about it. It is great that an historian has concentrated on the ordinary women and the Suffragists because their stories have not been told. All we are told at school is how women were thrown in prison and forced to eat for their fight for the vote. but this ignores the thousands of other women who did not take part in violence.
I didn't know that New Zealand was the first country to enfranchise women in 1893.
Didn't know that at the beginning of the Twentieth Century there was a commission of inquiry into how the British had run atrociously inhuman camps for interned Boer women and children.
Love quote from Chapter 4, from Sarah Leeds, elected Mayor of Oldham in 1910. When asked what she thought if those who voted against her she replied "Men have a perfectly right to their opinion." "They also have a perfectly right to change it."
Mr Winston Churchill is always portrayed has a hero. He wasn't very honourable to the women on Black Friday refusing to condemn the police for sexually assaulting a number of protectors.
Loved the stories around the women who attended the Great Pilgrimage. Written in a humorous way..Some of them are heart warming while others are saddening. Shameful to learn that a lot of the women were insulted or assaulted on the way. Heartening to learn that they didn't give up when they were threatened by violence.
Gruesome detail of how some of the suffragettes were treated by prison officials. A part of British history where we should look back in shame.
Summary: this book was well researched. Some critics have mentioned that there was too much detail. I didn't find this to be the case and was engrossed in the book from the start. The author really brought the characters to life and in some areas she wrote with a great sense of humour. The book is an important read and brings to light what a struggle it was for women to win the vote. For me, it has confirmed how we should not be complacent with our human rights because there will always be someone or something who is determined to take these away.
November 16, 2019
Riveting.
I knew a little bit about women's struggle to get the vote in the UK and had heard about the suffragettes, of course. But I hadn't realised just how long and ardous the journey to accomplish that goal was. Nor did I know of the many different groups that were involved in the campaigning, and that most of them were non-militant suffragists rather than the direct action-oriented suffragettes.
During the decades that women kept asking for the vote, they were repeatedly ignored (the numerous petitions delivered to Westminster were continuously brushed aside), ridiculed (anti-suffrage materials depicted women as predominantly concerned with hats and babies and incapable of being involved in politics), and frequently manhandled and beaten, regardless of whether they were 'gettes or 'gists. During the Great Pilgrimage, the suffragists went to considerable lengths to demonstrate that they were peaceable and non-violent but still had stones thrown at them.
My favourite photograph in the book depicts a handful of 'sandwich men' who are standing by the road bearing the message "women do NOT want votes" while a large number of women who very much do want votes are about to march past them.
I knew a little bit about women's struggle to get the vote in the UK and had heard about the suffragettes, of course. But I hadn't realised just how long and ardous the journey to accomplish that goal was. Nor did I know of the many different groups that were involved in the campaigning, and that most of them were non-militant suffragists rather than the direct action-oriented suffragettes.
During the decades that women kept asking for the vote, they were repeatedly ignored (the numerous petitions delivered to Westminster were continuously brushed aside), ridiculed (anti-suffrage materials depicted women as predominantly concerned with hats and babies and incapable of being involved in politics), and frequently manhandled and beaten, regardless of whether they were 'gettes or 'gists. During the Great Pilgrimage, the suffragists went to considerable lengths to demonstrate that they were peaceable and non-violent but still had stones thrown at them.
My favourite photograph in the book depicts a handful of 'sandwich men' who are standing by the road bearing the message "women do NOT want votes" while a large number of women who very much do want votes are about to march past them.
August 25, 2021
Amazing.
There's too much misinformation around the internet about what the Suffragists and Suffragettes did, and where they differed, and where they were even similar, so it was really good to have these all broken down in such personal records.
There's a lot of inflammatory assumptions out there that says that they just accepted the first thing offered to them, as if they didn't care who wasn't offered the vote/equality, and that's just not true. Their fight didn't end until they had "equal franchisement" and their efforts were only merely hampered by the war, not stopped.
Did you know that Elsie Ingills of the Suffragist movement was so adament to set up a field hospital to support injured soldiers, that she set one up in Serbia and founded the Scottish Women's Hospital? And that hospital had one of the best, if not the best, recovery and survival rates of all the field hospitals? I didn't! This book is amazing with it's accounts of who these women were, and what they did, on a very human level and the mark they left on this country?
My favourite accounts were of Gladys Duffield, who I'd never heard of before, and I was so glad when Robinson returned to tell us what happened to her after the pilgrimage. What an inspiration!
There's too much misinformation around the internet about what the Suffragists and Suffragettes did, and where they differed, and where they were even similar, so it was really good to have these all broken down in such personal records.
There's a lot of inflammatory assumptions out there that says that they just accepted the first thing offered to them, as if they didn't care who wasn't offered the vote/equality, and that's just not true. Their fight didn't end until they had "equal franchisement" and their efforts were only merely hampered by the war, not stopped.
Did you know that Elsie Ingills of the Suffragist movement was so adament to set up a field hospital to support injured soldiers, that she set one up in Serbia and founded the Scottish Women's Hospital? And that hospital had one of the best, if not the best, recovery and survival rates of all the field hospitals? I didn't! This book is amazing with it's accounts of who these women were, and what they did, on a very human level and the mark they left on this country?
My favourite accounts were of Gladys Duffield, who I'd never heard of before, and I was so glad when Robinson returned to tell us what happened to her after the pilgrimage. What an inspiration!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 17, 2018
A fantastic account of the actions, beliefs and motivations of the famous and less famous suffragists and suffragettes in the lead up to World War 1. The anecdotes of the lesser known activists contrast and create an intimacy that sits well and creates real context against which the more famous events are set against. What comes out most clearly is the bravery of the women young and old who fought for the vote from all classes. This is an excellent choice of read for anyone who wishes to just delve a little bit beyond the obvious in their understanding of the Women’s Right Movement in the early 1900s.
April 13, 2020
I picked this book up at the Vagina Museum on a whim and didn't really have any expectations at all, but boy am I pleased I did! Robinson has dug through diaries, newspaper clippings, interviewed relatives and thoroughly done her research to bring these inspiring women to life. The book mainly focuses on the non-violent suffraGISTS rather than the more famous militant suffraGETTES (a difference I did not know beforehand) and it is an incredible read of sisterhood and fighting for what you believe in in the face of great opposition.
October 2, 2022
Picked this book up on a visit to the Museum of London last summer.
I always enjoy a book that tells me things I didn't know and this was a fascinating read.
I knew, obviously, of the suffragette movement but wasn't aware of the distinction between suffragette and suffragist. The former adopting a militant approach to the fight for women's enfranchisement, "deeds not words", and the latter favouring a constitutional approach to the fight for votes for women.
Anyway, it was a vivid brilliantly researched book.
I always enjoy a book that tells me things I didn't know and this was a fascinating read.
I knew, obviously, of the suffragette movement but wasn't aware of the distinction between suffragette and suffragist. The former adopting a militant approach to the fight for women's enfranchisement, "deeds not words", and the latter favouring a constitutional approach to the fight for votes for women.
Anyway, it was a vivid brilliantly researched book.
December 2, 2019
This is very well researched. Jane Robinson uses many primary resources with the expertise of a professional researcher. There is some emphasis on the suffragists and the Great Pilgrimage. She also provides a useful time line of the battle for votes for woman and lists the key players - bout suffragists and suffragettes. There are plenty of amusing anecdotes and some very good illustrations. The text is a little dry in places.
April 27, 2018
This is a book full of fascinating detail of 'ordinary people doing extraordinary things' with entertaining anecdotes of fun and resilience alongside tragic stories of force-feeding and other physical abuse.
July 19, 2018
A very Empowering book. People would not believe that the fight for the vote began way back in 1600s. 1700s. it was not just a political vote. it was the right to own property, the right to an education, the right to their own money and so on. it is an amazing book.
September 12, 2019
Very interesting and enlightening about the 50-60 year battle for women to earn the right to vote and to feel worthy of their country's recognition. The difference between suffragists and suffragettes is highlighted and much detail is given about the main protagonists of each cause.
May 23, 2020
A really insightful read. Hard to get through in some parts, but overall well researched and well written.
September 10, 2024
Subject is interesting but the writing tedious.
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