March, Women, March: How Women Won the Vote

by Lucinda Hawksley, Helen Pankhurst (Foreword)

A lively look at the British suffragettes who fought to win women the vote.
March, Women, March explores the women’s movement in Britain, and the courageous rebels who refused to accept their exclusion from political life. Beginning with the publication of Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Women in 1792 and moving to the suffragettes of the early twentieth century and beyond, Lucinda Hawksley traces the fight for equal rights. Her fascinating narrative incorporates diary extracts and letters that bring the movement’s main protagonists back to life, and examines how suffragettes were portrayed in literature, art, and the contemporary media.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Feminism, Politics, Womens, Ebooks

272 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Lucinda Hawksley is a British biographer, author and lecturer. She is the great-great-great-granddaughter of Victorian novelist Charles Dickens and his wife Catherine. Hawksley is an award-winning travel writer.
She also writes under the name Lucinda Dickens Hawksley.

Reviews

[Tania · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very readable history of the fight for women's suffrage. Interestingly this starts with Mary Wollstonecraft and her publication of A Vindication of the Rights of Men/A Vindication of the Rights of Women, through the lives of other pioneering women and their fight for more equality.

I'd say this is a good place to start for anyone interested in the subject, but there is little New here for someone who already has more knowledge.

[Lisa Bywell · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredibly enjoyable and very readable account of the fight to get the vote. I was outraged for what women suffered and inspired by what they achieved. Would l have been a suffragist or a suffragette I wonder...

[Sneezewort · Rating 5 out of 5]

A real eye opener

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an admirably clear book about the fight for the recognition of the rights of women and for the struggle for women's suffrage.

[Isla Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this a very accessible read - it was very insightful, telling the history of the Suffrage movement, introducing me to a variety of people involved with the Suffrage cause - both Suffragism and, later, Suffragettes as they were mockingly labelled by the tabloid press, before they decided to adopt the term for themselves.

I was surprised to read about some politicians, both who supported and who derided the cause, including one or two very big names. I admit I didn't know a great deal about the topic beforehand, other than the basic info. I remembered being taught at school, such as the lady who was killed after stepping in to the horse race circuit, which is covered in one chapter.

I particularly liked that the book includes a number of excerpts from paper reports of related events, marches and incidents, as well as eye witness accounts of events, which made the topic come to life. The chapters are relatively short and there aren't especially long paragraphs, so its a not a very demanding read. The book is only 247 pages long and there's an extensive bibliography at the end, if you want to follow things up. There are a number of other books, including biographies, mentioned in passing and at times its noted that newspapers and articles of interest are available to view at London museums and the like.

There are also a number of glossy pages featuring photographs of various members of the Suffrage movement - portraits of ladies as well as photos taken during marches and photos of people wearing sandwich boards, proclaiming the Suffrage cause 'Votes for Women' etc. I'd happily recommend this book to anyone, if but mildly, curious about the topic - it provides a good, solid starting point with references for those who may want to dig a bit deeper into the topic and read on elsewhere.

[Kat O'Connor · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've just finished this book yet and overall, I enjoyed it. I already had an outline knowledge of the suffrage movement and this has definitely furthered my understanding with some fascinating details and engaging outlines of the main characters involved. However at times I've found it frustrating for a number of reasons. Sometimes it reads like an early draft because there are several typos (on a single page there is a rogue apostrophe in "Houses" and the date of Davison's protest at the Epsom Derby is given as 1912, not 1913, for example); also, sometimes the grammar is clunky and the footnoting is very sporadic - there hardly seemed to be any footnotes in the first half of the book. Not sure if this is just a Kindle issue perhaps. I agree with another reviewer that although it is well-paced, the structure doesn't always seem logical and the chapters end quite abruptly. Finally there are a few points that I'd like to have seen analysed in more depth, for example the reasons behind the anti-suffrage movement, and in particular why some women were adamant that they didn't want the right to vote. Hawksley sometimes abandons neutrality and the tone can be quite emotive instead. Overall though, I am enjoying it and it is worth a read! Would be interesting to see how it compares with other books on the same topic. Another positive was the exploration of the progress of women's rights after the 1918 Act and the revelation that Marie Stopes' pioneering work on family planning was partly driven by some very dodgy beliefs on "hygienic" breeding...

[Tim Rideout · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘The Times announced that the new bill [The Representation of the People (Equal Franchise) Bill] had enfranchised 5,240,000 more voters. Britain now had more female voters than male. It had been a century and a half since Mary Wollstonecraft had published A Vindication of the Rights of Women, but at last women in Britain had a fully enfranchised voice.’

Charting the establishment of full women’s suffrage from the publication of Mary Wollstonecraft’s ground breaking ‘Vindication’ in 1792 to the achievement of full women’s suffrage on the same terms as men in 1928, Lucinda Hawksley’s book provides an excellent overview of each key stage in that hard fought journey.

From a perspective in 2018, the achievements of the suffragists and suffragettes must be celebrated, both as a commemoration of what was achieved, but as importantly to mark the work still necessary to secure true gender equality. There is still so much to be done.

[Charlotte · Rating 3 out of 5]

To be honest it is quite a slow moving book and, despite having less than 300 pages, is a bit of a slow read. However, it really picked up towards the end and the historical details were really fascinating. I also liked the addition of quotes and extracts from the time period, as well as pictures of the key figures of the novel in order to put a face to the name and see them as real people. overall not bad but seemed longer than it was :)

[Pete Maguire · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great book. It’s only a summary of the fight for equality during mainly the Victorian age through to women receiving the vote but it does introduce you to lots of significant women who have been missed in the headline history some of us will be familiar with. Lots of interesting characters that I want to read more in depth about which means more books, and that’s never a bad thing

[tsabitkha_ ༊·˚ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book, giving me such incredible insights regarding feminism, especially wave 1 feminism and reminding me just how recent women got our rights, our human rights, and how our women, our ancestors, our mother, fought with female rage and all their might for us to have a choice as human. Please do read, one of the best books I've ever read in my whole entire life.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Comprehensive, informative and very ‘readable’. A combination of well-known facts and less familiar events and significant campaigners. Recommend a read.

[Bubbles · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good overall introduction to the women's movement

[Julie Bozza · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent! Well written, and a good balance between comprehensive and concise.

[Lauren Link · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing, I genuinely believe that books like these should be included in the school curriculum. I couldn't help but feel inspired by the women who paved the way for equality.

[Lea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was inspired, then it slowed down

[Rowena Onions · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much I didn't know about the early sufferagist movement! I found this book fascinating and very easy to read. I thoroughly recommend it!

[Sophie Laws · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nothing new added to the history of womens suffrage. A chapter bringing it up to today would have finished the book brilliantly

[Siv · Rating 5 out of 5]

Met the author last year a great speaker who talks to her audience with exceptional warmth and honest and insightful appraisal of her subject
Highly recommended

[Pippa Elliott · Rating 5 out of 5]

A most excellent overview of the rise of the women's suffrage movement. A non-fiction book with the readability of a novel.
The book starts with the true story of Lady Caroline Norton and her loveless, abusive marriage. Driven from the cruelty of the marital home she was deprived of access to her children and despite being a successful author, she was not entitled to any of the royalties (these went instead to her husband.) She became a campaigner for women's rites, her cause well-publicized and one 19th-century women were all too familiar with. As the decades passed, women became less and less tolerant of being treated as chattels and demanded to become mistresses of their own destinies.
The fledgling suffrage movement was founded on the ethos of peaceful protest. However, as the decades continued to roll past with only empty promises of change from male politicians, a faction of the suffrage cause split off to form the more militant Suffragettes.
What I found particularly interesting was the tension between the Suffrage and Suffragettes, and also the tragic story of Emily Davison (did she or did she not mean to throw herself under the King's horse?)
A highly recommended read for anyone interested in the changing role of women in the 19th and early 20th century.

[Gayle (OutsmartYourShelf) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read books on suffrage before but this one was particularly interesting. The author did not keep to only the well-known faces of suffrage (such as the Pankhursts) but talked about women who have now been forgotten but who contributed so much to the suffrage cause.

The later chapters were the most difficult to read when the author talked about the state sanctioned practice of force-feeding those on hunger strike in prison, how this was done dozens of times leaving victims with permanent health problems, and also when protesters were violently manhandled by both bystanders and the police, some of which constituted sexual assault.

This book should be required reading so that future generations are aware of the sacrifices made and horrors endured by these women (and men) in order to obtain the vote and to gain equality in the eyes of the law for women with regards to family law, earning money and control of property.

[Claire Rackley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really easy to read, really comprehensive account of the women's suffrage movement. Isn't afraid to delve into problematic issues and doesn't overly romanticise the suffragette's militancy. A lot of the history I already knew and this book filled in some important gaps for me.

Very well researched book, difficult to put down.

[Meg · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent and comprehensive look at the quest for women's suffrage that really helped me get my head around what happened and when. Fascinating stuff.

[Sarah Mccloskey · Rating 5 out of 5]

'The only measure which can satisfy us is one which shall secure to women the same rights to their own property and earnings which are enjoyed by men' - Elizabeth Wollstenholme

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

A succinct and brilliant history of the fight for equality for women, in particular in relation to the vote and to be recognised as individuals.

[Laura Noakes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Concise and interesting history of the women's suffrage movement in the UK.

[Alan Fricker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite terse but I learnt a great deal about the campaign for women's suffrage.

[Sophie]

got to pg133, will carry on with this at some point