The Call

by Edith Ayrton Zangwill, Elizabeth Day

The Call is a 1924 novel about a female scientist who abandons her research work (in chemistry) to be a suffragette. Although it has been ignored for nearly a hundred years, it is an important, and extremely readable, book. Edith Zangwill (1874–1945) - her husband was the writer Israel Zangwill - bases the detailed descriptions of Ursula’s working life on the life of Edith Zangwill’s stepmother, Hertha Ayrton (1854–1923), a physicist who became an expert on the electric arc. Yet, as Elizabeth Day ‘The Call gives a rare insight into a woman’s domestic life in the first two decades of the 20th century ... domestic details about running a house are, most unusually, given their due alongside Ursula’s political actions, elegantly making the point that a woman’s work behind closed doors is just as worthy of our attention as what goes on in the wider world.’ By making political points in the guise of a ‘woman’s novel’, the author stunningly reveals her commitment to feminism.’

Genres: Fiction, Classics, Feminism, Historical Fiction, Novels, Historical, British Literature

335 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1924

About the author

Edith Ayrton Zangwill (1874-1945) was born in Japan, where her British parents were working at the time. She was the daughter of the electrical engineer William E. Ayrton (1847-1908) and his wife Matilda Chaplin (1846-1883), a doctor, who died when Edith was eight. Two years later her father married the scientist Hertha Marks Ayrton (1854-1923).

Edith Ayrton attended Bedford College from 1890-2, joined the WSPU alongside her stepmother, helped form the Jewish League for Woman Suffrage, and became a leading member of the United Suffragists. In 1903 she married the writer Israel Zangwill (1864-1926), who often spoke publicly in favour of women's suffrage. He encouraged his wife's writing.

She published her first book (for children) in 1904 and went on to write six novels. The Call (1924) was her fifth. The Zangwills had three children and lived in London and Sussex.

Reviews

[Emily May · Rating 3 out of 5]

Many times I have complained about books with a slow middle bookended by a faster-paced beginning and end, but The Call was the complete opposite of that. A slow beginning eventually gave way to a compelling and dynamic middle that once again grew slow and lukewarm towards the end.

It didn't help that I had no interest in the love story and couldn't see the appeal of Tony. Every time the narrative focused on his relationship with Ursula, I started to lose interest. I actually don't think a love story added anything to this book at all and I just wanted to get back to the story of the suffragettes.

But the central story is a fascinating and horrible one. It follows Ursula through her awakening to the realities of law and politics in Britain, showing how a young woman in the early 20th century could go from disapproving of the suffragist movement to being an ardent supporter who sees women's suffrage as essential.

I have always found it very interesting that some women were anti-suffrage, and I think Zangwill does a good job of portraying why this was the case. Ursula is a brilliant and intelligent young woman, but she finds the suffragettes a bit silly and dramatic until she happens to witness a court case that results in, she feels, a grave miscarriage of justice. Like Ursula, many women were not privy to the legal injustices going on in their country, precisely because they had been kept out of law and government.

It also details the awful reality for imprisoned suffragettes who engaged in hunger strikes to protest that they were not treated as political prisoners. Many were force-fed, a controversial act that has been compared to torture.

Towards the end, however, the suffragette story was pretty much over, and the focus turned to the war and Ursula's relationship with Tony. I found all of this far less interesting, and the ending itself seemed a bit forced.

[TBV (on hiatus) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 ½ stars

The ending of this novel comes together just a touch too neatly, and certainly stretched my credulity, BUT that is a minor quibble. The Call is a very good historical novel which focuses on various social issues and inequalities, including suffrage for women. The story commences towards the end of the Edwardian era and finishes towards the end of WWI. It provides an interesting snapshot of life in Britain at that time.

Ursula Winfield is a brilliant young scientist from a wealthy middle class family, and lives with her mother and stepfather in a luxurious home with several servants in attendance. Ursula shuns the company of her mother’s socialite friends and spends most of her time in the house’s attic which has been converted into a laboratory for her research. She has an ongoing battle to be accepted in the male dominated scientific world. Even when she writes a paper on her field of expertise, it is announced at a meeting as being the work of Mr Winfield. Being totally absorbed by her work she does not give suffrage for women much thought, and her parents are very much against suffrage for women and particularly against militant suffragettes.

However, various experiences and contact with suffragettes nudge Ursula to become a suffragette herself, albeit reluctantly at first. Her narrow world of research in her attic laboratory and her parents’ milieu soon expands to an awareness and understanding of various social issues. Her anger at inequality and injustice compels her to make some life changing choices. Being a suffragette inevitably results in strained relationships with her loved ones and her peers.

The characterisation is good. Her stepfather is the stereotypical army Colonel, whilst her glamorous mother represents the frivolous world of fashion and fun, of at-homes and dinner parties where the main topic of conversation is more often than not a lamentation of the trials and tribulations of having servants. Ursula’s transition from introverted scientist to an activist speaking eloquently at rallies is presented in a plausible manner.

Author Edith Ayrton Zangwill (1879-1945) was an activist herself, and she based Ursula’s story on the life of her stepmother Hertha Ayrton (1854-1923) who was a distinguished physicist and a suffragette. Edith and Hertha were both members of the WSPU (Women’s Social and Political Union). Edith’s husband was the author Israel Zangwill (1864-1926).

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think that the best books are the ones that capture all or part of a life – or lives – with real insight and beautiful expression, and that the very best books do all of that and say something important to its first readers and to readers who come to it years and years later.

This is one of the very best books; telling the story of a pioneering young woman scientist who becomes deeply involved in the campaign for votes for women.

Ursula had been born into a well-to-do London family, toward the end of the 19th century. Her father had died but her mother had remarried; and she lived quite amicably with her mother and step-father in Lowndes Square; spending as much of her time as she could in the laboratory that she had carefully set up in the attic.

It wasn’t really what Ursula’s mother wanted for her daughter – she was a busy socialite who loved clothes, flowers and romance – but she loved her only child, she accepted that she had interests that completely confounded her, she wanted her to be happy and so she did what she could to help her pursue her interests; though she still hoped that Ursula would meet a nice young man, fall in love, marry, have children ….

The daughter understood the mother, she appreciated what she was going for her, and she loved her for it. The relationship between the two of them – women of quite different generations – was quite beautifully drawn; and it has become one of my favourite literary mother-daughter relationships.

As I read I was to find that Edith Ayrton Zangwill was very good indeed at people, and at their interactions and relationships. Her characters were real fallible human beings, who changed with time and experience, and who might be seen in different lights at different points in the story.

The story telling was engaging and accessible, with a lovely style that made me think that the author was speaking of people, places and events that she knew well and hoped that others would understand and appreciate.

Studying at university wasn’t an option for Ursula, but she attended scientific meetings, and when she thought she had something to contribute she put forward her ideas. Sadly they were not taken seriously, because she was a woman. Just one man – Professor Smee – took her seriously and he did what he could to help her speak and be heard.

‘I think you are very chivalrous,’ Ursula said suddenly. ‘That is the only chivalry women want nowadays, to be given equal opportunity.’

Professor Smee was middle-aged, he was less than happy with his home life, and he was utterly smitten with Ursula; something that she completely failed to recognise. Her mother noticed, and thought that she might do a little match-making. When she realised that the professor was married already she was undaunted and decided to make a friend of Mrs Smee. That went badly because Mrs Smee misinterpreted her interest and she misinterpreted the reasons for that lady’s response to her visit.

Edith Ayrton Zangwill handled this unhappy comedy of errors beautifully; and it is a lovely reminder that ordinary life goes on, even at times of social upheaval and change.

Ursula was aware of The Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU), a militant,women-only political movement campaigning for women’s suffrage in the United Kingdom. Its membership was known for civil disobedience and direct action; heckling politicians, holding demonstrations, breaking windows of government buildings, setting fire to post boxes; and being imprisoned, going on hunger strike and enduring force-feeding.

She was interested in the women at the centre of the movement, she admired the strength of their convictions and their willingness to act; but she disapproved of much of their behaviour and she thought that if women were taken seriously by men and given the freedom to pursue their own ambitions whether or not they had the vote was immaterial.

Ursula met and falls in love with a young man, a man from a respectable, well-to-do family, who would go on to work for the civil service. Her mother was delighted.

Then something happened to change her mind about the WSPU.

Ursula pulled an old woman in danger if drowning from in the Thames, only for the police to arrest the woman for attempting suicide. She went to the old woman’s trial, hoping that she would be able to help the her, and while she was waiting she followed trials for prostitution and for sexual assault. She saw a side of life that she hadn’t known existed and she was shocked to the core.

'Was it only this morning? Then the world had been a clean and pleasant place of healthy men and women. Now it had become rotten, crawling with obscene abomination. These suffragettes talked as if the vote would help! If people were so vile and bestial, nothing could help, nothing! It was all horrible. She did not want to live. Science was dead, futile. Everything was tainted- even Tony.'

Looking to do something – anything – to help led Ursula to the women of WSPU. She learned more about their objectives, more about why they acted as they did, and in time their cause became hers. She threw herself into that cause whole-heartedly, risking her physical and mental health, and testing her family’s patience to breaking point.

Tony had been posted to India, and she wrote to him, quite sure that he would understand her cause. When he replied it was clear that he disapproved strongly, and she was torn between the call of her cause and the call of her heart.

Then war broke out, and Ursula had to decide whether she would serve her country better by continuing to campaign for social justice or by returning to work on something that might help soldiers at the front or men grievously injured there.

The reporting of the words of the members of WSPU is eloquent and the accounts of their activities – and their consequences told are vivid, unsparing, and feel utterly real.

Edith Ayrton Zangwill was one of those members.

The story of the war years is equally powerful, and spoke about the position of women in society in a very different way; and it brought together the stories of the calls of science, cause and heart very effectively.

I couldn’t think how this story could ever be wrapped up, but it was wrapped up perfectly in a wonderfully dramatic and emotional conclusion.

It’s an story of a fascinating era; and of a lovely heroine who learns so much and gives so much; and of the lives she touches.

The mixture of human drama and social history is perfect.

‘The Call’ is a book for the head and for the heart.

[Shelley Diamond · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was first published in 1924. The main character is a woman who is a self-taught scientist, with enough money to have a laboratory in her home in London. We learn about the difficulties that women face in presenting their results to male-dominated scientific organizations. That's only the first part of the story.

In the second part, Ursula joins the suffragist movement. She becomes a speaker at meetings, goes to jail, and goes on hunger strikes, etc. When World War I starts, the suffragist movement is put on hold. Ursula ends up volunteering in a hospital and sees the wounded. This revives her desire to go back to her laboratory to develop an extinguisher of the German "liquid fire" weapons that burn the victims.

All the above is fascinating and unusual. The story was based on the real life experiences of the author's stepmother, Hertha Aryton, a scientist who received awards for her work on the electric arc. Unfortunately, the romantic subplot ends with a happily ever after marriage that seemed contrived and unrealistic. Without that, I would have rated it four stars.

Anyone who likes The Call will probably like the book No Surrender by Constance Maud, which is also about the suffragist movement in England in the same time period, but slightly earlier. I actually liked that book a bit more because it has a more consistent story, but The Call has the added element of the woman being a scientist. I'd say they're both good and both worth reading if you're interested in the topics. Persephone Books published both and they are an amazing source of good books about women. Their website is excellent and they send beautifully printed free newsletters in the regular mail if you sign up to get them...

[Lucienne Boyce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another lovely book from Persephone and an interesting addition to my collection of 1900s novels about women's suffrage. I liked the way the book captured the heroine's (Ursula) ambivalence about the militant campaign; she is only gradually drawn into it and her feelings about it are often ambivalent. In that, the author reflects the complex mix of ideologies and loyalties that drew and kept women in the movement. But it's interesting that it never occurs to Ursula to join the non-militant movement instead. In fact, the author gives hardly any (if any) acknowledgement of the existence of the constitutional campaign. Perhaps it would have illuminated Ursula's decision to join the WSPU if she had; it would certainly have been a more balanced historical background. On the other hand, though the novel presents the militant campaign as the more significant, it doesn't accept the WSPU line uncritically - and it's a fascinating read.

[Gemma entre lecturas · Rating 4 out of 5]

He leído Obstinada despacio, quizá más despacio de lo habitual. No porque la novela sea difícil, sino porque obliga a detenerse. Edith Ayrton Zangwill no escribe sobre el sufragismo. Escribe sobre algo más, sobre el miedo, el poder, la dependencia, la desigualdad, la culpa, la fragilidad de las relaciones y el precio de pensar por una misma. Lo hace sin convertir a sus personajes en símbolos, son personas complejas, llenas de contradicciones.
La autora destaca las diferencias cómo algunas leyes y costumbres podían castigar la pobreza, el sufrimiento o la libertad femenina con una dureza que hoy nos parece incomprensible. Publicada en 1924, interpela sobre la justicia, la igualdad y la dignidad humana con fuerza y originalidad.
¡Feliz lectura! 

Más en mi blog

[Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

i am full of thoughts and overwhelmed with all the thinking yet to do.

"the call" or "forte tête" (french title) was so vibrant with powerful words and lines, excruciating stories of suffragettes and their war to win the right to vote, a simple quiet romance and a compelling cast of characters.

the way Edith Ayrton Zangwill wrote her heroine, Ursula, and how she comes to her multiple choices was so clever. never once, i condemned her for her misplaced pride, her naivety, her judgements on life and society. i could only love her, indulge her, admire her as she slowly lets her heart pushes her genius mind in the right direction.

in contrast with evoking some of the worst times of the twentieth century and never hiding (nor excusing) the flaws of all her characters, the end could be said to be too hopeful, too naive. however, i would side with the author and call for another enlightenment of what is profoundly important and should put aside all else.

[Bryony · Rating 5 out of 5]

If I could give this book more than 5 stars I would. This follows a young woman at the beginning of the 20th century, just before and through the first world war. She's a self taught scientist from a socialite family, who have money and status within the community. She wasn't interested, but then became interested, in the WSPU and their cause. As a scientist she was constantly in the shadow of men even though she was just as good, if not better, than them.

Ursala former a friendship with a Professor Smee who believed in her work, who fell in love with her even though he was married. Ursala was just interested interested in her work and how to demonstrate this to the scientific community. This novel demonstrates the struggles gone through, and how indignant it was for a woman of that era. We followed the suffragette cause on getting their bill through parliament, of the horrors they went through under the Cat and Mouse Act and how they never gave up for what they believe in and what they eventually achieved.

This is beautifully written by Edith, it is written in a way that she really knows what the struggles were as a woman in this period. From research on the author she was similar to her fictional character Ursula, she was stuck in a world where she wasn't recognised. The writing is beautiful and the love story and interest within it between Ursala and Tony was magical, that even through all the hardships they were always true to each other.

This is a wonderful story and one not to be missed. Written in 1920 but published in 1924 also signified the real life struggle this author went through to ge her work recognised and what a master piece this story was. You really connected with the characters and the real life events of the time period this novel is set in.

[Jennifer Birmingham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Plot 1: Ursula is an upperclass young lady in Edwardian England. Her mother is a little bit silly and has a string of young men who hang about her (I literally don’t understand how this works since she is married to Ursula’s step father, but rich people are different?). During a slow August in London Ursula falls in love with one of her mother’s boys.
Plot 2: Professor Smee falls in love with Ursula despite being old and married. But he has done this before and his wife hates him for it. In the name of his hidden love for Ursula, he guides her in her study of science. But then during WWI when Ursula has discovered a tool for saving me in the trenches, she rejects the professor and he makes it difficult for her to bring her tool to fruition.
Plot 3: Ursula discovers the Suffrage movement and becomes a big deal with the Suffragettes. She’s arrested and goes to jail more than once, goes through with a hunger strike while in jail, writes for Vote!, and gives many speechs. Her mother and stepfather just about disown her for her politics.

I love how the folks of this era describe sickness. Ursula just about comes down with “brain fever” from working so hard. And Tony can’t walk because he is suffering from the psychosomatic symptoms of “shell shock”.
This book is a slow read, not exciting, and a little bit boring. It’s worth reading a chapter a day or so. But now that I’ve finished reading it, the characters are still in my head and I want to go back into their world.

[Shatterlings · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this especially the suffragette bits, the science bits were suitably vague and the love story suitably predictable. I was a bit surprised that Ursula didn’t take up a role in the war until some more vague science happened that wasn’t really needed, but I was glad Charlotte, a relatively minor character had an interesting arc. Vernon was kind of irritating and Tony was kind of tall, dark and handsome but ultimately not very well described and spends a lot of the novel off page. It’s a well written novel and an excellent period piece.

[Abi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very powerful read! I enjoyed the historical and political aspects of it regarding its focus on women's suffrage, and I really enjoyed the twists and turns employed by Zangwill throughout. I have told multiple people that reading this book has felt like an action movie, because I've been sooo invested while never knowing what to expect. This book was really not predictable in the slightest, and yet it still managed to have a very sweet and full-circle ending. I would recommend this to anyone, but especially people who love classic literature and want to learn more about women's suffrage and the sacrifices these women had to make during a period of incredible uncertainty. I loved how Ursula had so many things to consider in her narrative, like her laboratory work, becoming a suffragette, and the sudden unexpected bombshells of love and war.

[Cristina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Romanzo delicato e avvolgente, che attraverso gli occhi e la storia della protagonista, regala uno spaccato interessante sul movimento delle suffragette. Da leggere almeno una volta nella vita!

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing book. Originally published in 1924, and now reprinted, it is far from a book limited to the interwar period, as it features a woman far in advance of her time and a significant female role model for today. Ursula has significant experiences herself, and her progress over several years affects many people if only by contrast. Zangwill has cleverly created a memorable character in Ursula who is already living an irregular life when she comes into contact with suffragettes, and it is that element of the book which fascinated me. There is so much going on this book which gives an incredibly vivid picture of life for women in the early twentieth century, and I was extremely pleased to receive a copy from Persephone of this most recent edition of a fine book.
Ursula Winfield is a fortunate young woman. She is a comfortably off scientist who has gently resisted her mother’s attempts to bring her out into Edwardian society, preferring to devote her time to experiments in a special laboratory in her stepfather’s house. She is known to attend the Chemical Society’s meetings, though as a woman she cannot become a full member. It is there that she attracts the attention of Professor Vernon Smee, an influential scientist who is able and willing to offer facilities for Ursula to conduct more complex experiments. While she innocently takes up his offer, he becomes entranced by her youth, beauty and intelligence, especially as he has become dissatisfied by his wife. As her mother is a socially successful woman he is able to join the throng of admirers that she entertains, even though he admires the daughter rather than his hostess. There are several awkward incidents beautifully described by Zangwill as Ursula proceeds with her scientific experimentation and she finds romance when she is least expects it. She is involuntarily confronted by the significant difference in the lives of men and women and is becomes gradually involved with suffragettes, and it is her actions in this section of the book that I found the strongest. As war breaks out she is challenged in new ways, but is far from obvious how everything will turn out, as Zangwill keeps the tension going until the last page.
This book is written by a confident and able writer who chooses her material well, smoothly moving from disaster to triumph, challenge to success, but also from effort to failure and frustration. It has a vast compass, as a young woman becomes experienced in all that life can throw at her, but also demonstrates all she can offer. While this is a book of its time rather than a contemporary novel, I think it has much to say about women’s lives as the expectations of marriage are cleverly subverted and the strength of belief in a cause are clearly displayed as the main character suffers appalling treatment. Ursula is shown as a character who really thinks, dealing with challenges as best she can, human in her reactions to the treatment of herself and others. It is a big book and not well known, but it deserves much more attention offering as a valuable insight into the lives of women in the early twentieth century, and I recommend it as a read for anyone with an interest in relatively early feminist literature.

[Alice Foxall]

I really enjoyed this and it was super readable (especially as it is 100 years old!).

I thoroughly enjoyed the suffragette plot line - love to see a women being radicalised! In about 15 pages, Ursurla went from:

The world was such a delightful, interesting place; why should anyone want to die?

To:

I did not know that anyone could be paid so little! No wonder she wanted to end it. It is the people who give such prices that should be sent to prison.

And finallly:

If people were so vile and bestial, nothing could help, nothing! It was all horrible, she did not want to live.

Which was relatable and also a bit depressing.

I enjoyed the three storylines but they were a bit too separate and didn't link together very well. I didn't really like the ending. A lot of the book focused on the romance plot, which was sweet but he was a bit gross and sexist.

So many great quotes! Some of my other favourites:

We want the Vote so that we that we may lessen the suffering, the abuse of life, that we see all around us.

You think that militancy does harm, but I have come to think that it is the only way to success.

We are not lawbreakers but we are quite prepared to become so.

The real sacrifice must be for women with no money.

[Laura Fuentes · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a scientist who lives in London, and a woman, this felt like a book almost made for me. At the start of the book you get to live what it must have been to be a scientist at that time, to go to lectures in these grand buildings, and it almost surprised me that I knew all the places Ursula went to in London. Reading this book felt like I was experiencing the city in a different time.

Ursula’s journey as a suffragette was beautifully written, you yourself become immersed in her journey of self discovery, and event after event, you feel yourself understanding and agreeing with militant methods along with her. At the start of the book, Ursula does understand, through her experience as a female scientist, that women are at a disadvantage (“My world is divided up into animal, vegetable and mineral; not into men and women. The difference between the sexes seems to me so small in such a wonderful, complex universe. Why, I should never think of the subject, only suddenly, when I am quite happy with my experiments, I come crash into some absurd artificial sex barrier - as though my work wore petticoats!”) And yet, she is still sheltered and somewhat protected from all the disadvantages of womanhood through her station. The only way she has been able to engage in science is because of her class, having enough money and resources to have her own lab, and her parents allowing her. Therefore, she still does not approve of militant suffragette tactics, and she is not herself a part of suffrage.

However, during the book Ursula witnesses many acts of violence, and finally her eyes are opened, they must all be connected. From that day in court where she sees a man given a 3 month sentence for sexually assaulting a 9 year old girl, next to a man sentenced to 12 months for stealing a pair of boots (“Three months, that’s all they think a little girl is worth”), to the accounts of forcible feeding that are only reported by the suffragists papers, how brutally they take away a woman’s bodily autonomy as a form of punishment. This is paired with the conviction of other characters (even Ursula at one point) that the suffragists are hurting their cause by using militancy, that they are “mistakenly lowering themselves, lowering the whole of womanhood by their antics”, as if that weren’t the entire point, that a woman should be able to be as she wished, that she shouldn’t be constrained by concepts of ladylike, womanhood, what a woman should act and be and feel like (“Why should women respect laws which they have no share in making?”).

Ursula ends up joining the suffragettes and we follow her when she is imprisoned, through her hunger and thirst strikes, through forcible feeding, until the war starts and she is released. And then we follow her when she invents an extinguisher to stop liquid fire, through her many attempts at contacting the War Office, while many men are dying from this. Until she is finally heard after 14 months of letters and efforts to get through (would it have taken that long if she were a man?).

We also follow her while she navigates relationships with men in her life. With a professor that makes a show of being a suffragist supporter, while treating his wife like a nuisance, and trying to block Ursula’s invention in favour of his own after she rejects him. With a stepfather that throws her out of the house when she becomes radicalised but a cannot fully rationalise why women should not have the vote (“could any man have run the procession better? And if a woman could run a procession, why not - of course, it was absurd”). And a fiancé that urges her to stop militancy, being unable to understand this call, while he himself understands the call to go to war. (“Can’t you think of me as a soldier?”, “Had suffrage militancy to her seemed like enlisting to him, and elemental and incontrovertible duty? For the first time he fully realised her idealism, which, however much they differed, was yet akin to his own”).

I also loved her relationship with her mother, who supports Ursula in all her pursuits, including science and suffrage, even when she doesn’t fully understand them. (“Ursula is an idiot, but she is rather a splendid idiot”, “I told your stepfather that if he made a fuss about it, I should have to break a window too, and then I should be sure to meet you”).

The book is also filled with hauntingly beautiful and romantic thoughts, that really show how rich Ursula’s life is, where she has passions and calls in her life, as well as love and friendship.

“We poor little creatures work so hard, and do so little of what we intend. Perhaps, as you say, all my efforts and desire counted for nothing in Women’s Suffrage, and all your effort and desire will count for nothing in the war. It may be that the thing I shall do in life is to bring military success, and the thing that you will do with your war is bring votes to women. What do we know, Tony, as we beat so desperately in the dark? We only know that we love each other”

“Dearest, I had to fight in the woman’s Cause. It seemed a sort of - Call, and I nearly died for it. And you had to fight in the war, that was a Call, too, and you nearly died for it. And now, I suppose, we are called to each other, not to die, but to live.”

[Rebecca Gatti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anche se arriva in un’edizione nuova e moderna, con una bella copertina è un formato carino, non bisogna dimenticare che questo libro arriva dritto dal 1924.
Si sentono echi novecenteschi in ogni pagina, e subito è difficile abituarsene (soprattutto se, come me, si leggono più libri contemporaneamente ed è difficile districarsi tra i vari generi), ma una volta entrati nel mood si provano quelle belle sensazioni dei classici del ‘900. La trama è particolare, una vita avventurosa di una donna (la matrigna della scrittrice, se non erro) che è stata scienziata, suffragetta e amante. Una vita combattuta contro le regole del tempo, con caparbietà e resistenza e che si svolge tra anni storicamente difficili. L’intensità delle lotte portate avanti dalla protagonista offuscano, a mio parere, i sentimenti verso il suo futuro marito, ma la bellezza del romanzo sta anche nello sposare benissimo le caratteristiche di Ursula persona e di Ursula amante.
Una testa dura, questa donna, come molte altre nella storia e nell’attualità. Piacevole, scorrevole e prosa apprezzabile.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ursula Winfield is mistaken for “Mr. Winfield” several times during the course of this book, when her thoughts and ideas are impressive enough that everyone assumes they must have been formulated by a man. This is but one example of what Ursula struggles against in The Call. As the main character, she is not a type but a clear and interesting individual, who is shaped by and changes with her experiences in the scientific world, the suffragette movement, and the war. As readers, we get to see the intentions behind some very difficult choices and the joy Ursula experiences in her coveralls in the laboratory. The supporting characters, including her mother Mrs. Hibbert and her mentor Professor Smee, change with or against her through time providing interesting shifts in perspectives. Some of the plot choices in the book feel a little predictable or common but I think that overall Ursula and The Call are very brave.

[Moppet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very readable novel about an unlikely suffragette, Ursula, a socialite's daughter whose passion is for chemistry. How Ursula is lured out of her laboratory to join the suffrage movement, and how the First World War brings her back to the lab to develop an extinguisher for the flamethrowers being used on the battlefield, is a fascinating story. Ursula's suffering in prison during the hunger strike era gave me a new appreciation for the women who went through this so my generation didn’t have to.

There's a love story too and although I didn't think this was quite as successful, the characters were all vividly drawn and memorable, especially Ursula's apparently frivolous but strong-willed mother (is it just me who thinks she was one of Edward VII's numerous mistresses?)

[Katrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars for this fascinating story of a female scientist at the beginning of the 20th century, who becomes a suffragette. Ursula is such a memorable character, and the writing, particularly when describing the women’s battle for the vote, is passionate and evocative. The supporting characters, particularly Charlotte Smee, are also memorable. I loved spending time with Ursula and am sorry to have finished. If I had any criticisms they are they Ursula’s passion for the women’s suffrage movement ended too abruptly, but this is a minor point in another excellent Persephone book

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had never heard of this author until recently, and according to the description here on Goodreads, it is a bit unknown and almost 100 years old. It was published in 1924. One of the themes of this book is the Suffragette Movement in Britain, prior to WWI. Women's roles in the family, in the sciences, in WWI were also discussed. The author based the main character on her stepmother who was a physicist.

[Maria Cristina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Questo libro non mi ha entusiasmato, anzi. Libro del mese di settembre del GdL di cui faccio parte, l’ho portato a termine per dovere, ma devo dire che avrei anche potuto no terminarlo, una storia senza lode e senza infamia, un libro da ombrellone che affronta vari temi( il diritto di voto alle donne, la poca considerazione nei loro confronti in ambito scientifico, la prima guerra mondiale) ma tutti trattati con superficialità e in modo romanzesco. Non è un libro che rileggerei

[Andreea · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story was very interesting, but the execution a bit lacking. Despite the twists and turns and the unique characters, I found myself wishing I could finish this book sooner rather than later.

I would, however, recommend this book. Perhaps it was my funny mood at this unusual time that made me appreciate it less than I expected.

[Elisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ci ho messo un po a leggerlo.
La prima parte è inutile e mi ha fatto pensare di abbandonare il libro.
Da metà in avanti le cose si fanno interessanti e mi è piaciuto.
Peccato il finale e la lunghezza. Forse era meglio dividere in due il testo.
Molto apprezzate le descrizioni sui lavori delle suffragette e l’invenzione del estintore.

[Un coeur mélancolique · Rating 5 out of 5]

la protagonista di questo libro Ursula è una scienziata che un giorno decide di battersi per i diritti delle donne insieme alle suffragette. Una donna con un grande coraggio, il suo grande coraggio là porterà ad essere arrestata nel carcere di Holloway (un carcere che prende il nome da un quartiere di Londra che verrà chiuso nel 2016) in questo carcere vengono arrestate tutte le donne che fanno parte delle suffragette

«La cella era fredda e soffocante, ma il suo corpo giovane è sano si adattò con rapidità, si rese conto che la solitudine era più dura da sopportare

«mi piacerebbe avere tanto tempo per pensare»

Adesso era proprio dai suoi pensieri che voleva fuggire, perché in quelle ore interminabili e solitarie la sua infelicità cresceva nella cella angusta.

Se la sua cella le aveva dato l'impressione di essere buia e soffocante, quella in cui entrò era ancora più tetra e opprimente.
«questa è la cella di isolamento che trovi tanto divertimente»

un libro molto attuale, alcuni passaggi erano troppo lunghi e si potevano evitare. Un libro che consiglierei di leggere a tutti, perché in fondo da quando sono esistite le suffragette ancora lottiamo per i diritti delle donne.

[Lizzy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incredible glance into early 20th century science and the suffragette movement! I didn't expect the story to move me, but the romance and relationships were so textured and realistic. Fully enjoyed this!

[Alessandra Losego · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ursula mostra carattere, testardaggine e caparbietà nel portare avanti i suoi ideali, sia verso le scienze che per promuovere il diritto di voto alle donne. I suoi ideali, la sua forza e grinta la rendono un personaggio indimenticabile e appassionato. Dolce e tenace la storia d'amore con Tony.

[Alexandra D. · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://livresforfun.overblog.com/2020...

[Ana · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5

[Juliette · Rating 4 out of 5]

if a pretty girl approached me on a train and asked me to become a suffragette i too would do whatever she asked.

[Juliette Moreau · Rating 3 out of 5]

un peu lent pas bien !