Sylvia Pankhurst: Natural Born Rebel

by Rachel Holmes

On the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, the definitive biography of suffragette Sylvia Pankhurst-political rebel, human rights champion, and radical feminist ahead of her time.



Sylvia Pankhurst fought militantly for a woman's right to vote, inspiring movements around the globe. But the vote was just the beginning. A talented artist, a free-spirit, a visionary, Sylvia was seen as "wild," even by the standards of her activist mother and sister. She became a radical feminist, committing herself to the fight for reproductive rights, equal pay, access to welfare and education, and freedom of sexual expression. She converted her experiences of torture, imprisonment, and violence into a lifelong quest to champion human rights.

Encompassing both World Wars and lasting through the Anti-Apartheid Movement, Pankhurst's political life was international in scope; it included Irish independence, pacifism, the rights of refugees, and the fight against racism in Europe, the Indian subcontinent, and colonial Africa. Her United States lecture tours made headlines and connected her with both American feminists and the NAACP. She spent her life in dialogue, dispute, and resolution with Winston Churchill, Vladimir Lenin, Jomo Kenyatta, Haile Selassie, Harriot Stanton Blatch, and W.E.B. DuBois. And she wrote about it all, prolifically.

In this enthralling biography, acclaimed author Rachel Holmes interweaves Pankhurst's rebellious political and private lives to show how her astonishing achievements continue to resonate today.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, History, Feminism, Biography Memoir, Politics, Womens

976 pages, Hardcover

First published December 15, 2020

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Rachel Holmes’ new book, Eleanor Marx: A Life is published by Bloomsbury on 8 May 2014, described by Golden PEN Award winner Gillian Slovo as “a dazzling account of a woman and her family, an age and a movement, that grips from the first page to the last.”

Holmes is also the author of The Hottentot Venus: The life and death of Saartjie Baartman (Bloomsbury) and The Secret Life of Dr James Barry (Viking & Tempus Books). Last year Rachel co-edited, with Lisa Appignanesi and Susie Orbach, the much-discussed Fifty Shades of Feminism (Virago). She was co-commissioning editor of Sixty Six Books: 21st Century Writers Speak to the King James Bible (Oberon, 2011) with Josie Rourke and Chris Haydon. Holmes is curator of the new Impossible Conversations talks series at the Donmar Warehouse in London.

In 2010 she received an Arts Council cultural leadership award as one of Britain’s Fifty Women to Watch. Rachel Holmes has worked with and for British Council literature festivals and international programmes since 2000.

Reviews

[Roman Clodia · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an inspirational and iconic woman Sylvia was, and how telling that she is generally known only within the context of the Pankhurst family and her work for the suffragette cause. This wonderfully readable biography is like three books in one: the first traces the lives of Sylvia Pankhurst's parents, especially her mother Emmeline; the second is a wonderfully-realised history of British left-wing progressive politics and activism including the birth of the Labour Party; and the third is the life of Sylvia herself. Of course, all three are intertwined and are written about in great detail that never becomes wearisome. Holmes keeps this engaging and limits her footnotes (notably, they are only 5% of the volume so this seems to be positioning itself as a general rather than scholarly text as not everything is referenced for follow-up).

There is, though, a massive amount that I didn't know about Sylvia - firstly her long love affair with Keir Hardie, first leader of the Labour Party; and, secondly, her long-term interest with and in Ethiopia and Haile Selassie which begins with Mussolini's invasion but which ends with Sylvia emigrating to Ethiopia, which is also where she died in 1960. This section might be of especial interest to readers of Maaza Mengiste's 'The Shadow King', currently on the Booker Shortlist 2020.

It's astonishing to think that Sylvia who was born in 1882 and grew up under Victoria's regime lived on into the twentieth century, dying in 1960, and so saw so much change in society: the growth of the labour, union, socialist and feminist movements; the Russian Revolution, fascism in Europe, the anti-racism and anti-colonial movements. Holmes is perhaps stronger on the local and national rather than the international but that may be due to where the sources are: certainly, there's far more detail about Sylvia's early life, not least her arrests and multiple imprisonments for militant suffragette activism and the horrific bouts of force-feeding during her hunger strikes and sleep strikes.

This doesn't sidestep the splits in the suffrage movement and Sylvia's distressing falling out with her mother and sister Christabel who may have started out as radicals but became more reactionary over time, wanting to limit the female vote to propertied and married women while Sylvia became more radical, tying female suffrage to the wider issue of universal suffrage and the enfranchisement of working men.

This is long but it never outstays its welcome, and it widens our attention to Sylvia beyond the proto-feminist suffragette activism to her work that formed the foundation of the NHS amongst other things - and I particularly liked her arguments with Lenin!

Many thanks to Bloomsbury for an ARC via NetGalley.

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sylvia Pankhurst was a powerhouse of a human being--feminist, antifascist, anticolonialist, antiimperialist, antiracist, passionately in favour of justice, participatory democracy, respect for human rights, improving the material reality of people's lives, respect for work and workers. And she was always, always ready to put herself on the line for her principles. She went repeatedly to prison, endured torture and assault and insults and surveillance and harassment. Just an astonishing woman. And although she was willing to take on positions of leadership, she continually worked to centre other voices and other lives. When she got an audience, after much persistence, with the prime minister to talk about women being able to vote, she took a group of working class women with her and insisted that they do the talking and that he listen to them describe their lives. When she made the invasion of Ethiopia by fascist Italy and the racist basis of colonialism the focus of the newspaper she edited, she hired black journalists to write for it. I knew she was an important figure in the suffragist movement, and I knew her antiwar stance had angered her famous mother and older sister so much they publicly denounced her (they preferred nationalism and jingoism to her more principled and nuanced position), but I had no idea just how important she was in radical politics and how many issues she took on over the course of her long life as a committed activist.

My only real complaint about this book is that it badly needed some serious editing. It's too long and there's far too much repetition; information is often repeated, sometimes within a few pages, even sometimes in the same words, as if whole passages and sentences were cut and pasted and never revised for redundancy. And there are a lot of missing words and garbled syntax (again, some of these errors look like basic cut and past errors, something I'm not surprised to see in manuscripts but am very surprised to see in a printed book). The writing is generally serviceable, if not beautiful, and if you care about the history of feminism, of radical politics, of activism, of working and economic life, of anticolonialist and antiracist and antifascist struggles, and so much more, this book is necessary reading, but be prepared for some frustration with the details of the text.

[Erin Matson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sylvia Pankhurst was an astonishing activist, applying an intersectional feminist sensibility to her women’s rights activism generations decades before other white women in the movement began to catch on to a long-held practice of women of color.

Jailed repeatedly for her suffrage activism, she paced 28 hours in her cell and endured tortuous force-feedings that wrecked her body for life. She was a pacifist, a pioneer in the design and execution of mutual aid, and an important critic of brutal state power, be it fascism or from her ideological allies. She understood and practiced the power of art, activism, journalism, politics, and above all, dogged determination.

This biography annoyed me with its non-linear approach; repetition grows old in a 949-page book. One gets a sense the author is a militant socialist or communist and this is why she adores Sylvia Pankhurst. That’s okay, but leads to a few serious issues with the presentation of Pankhurst’s life. At one point in the narrative, Pankhurst turns her back on a cause of her life, votes for women, as her left-wing politics became more militant, coming to argue that if women were to vote that would uphold a bad system and therefore suffrage was no longer a worthy goal. The author mentions this with a sentence and moves on, never to return. Further, vehement, one-sided ‘not-racist’ justifications frame Pankhurst’s praise for what she called her “eugenic baby” and are too uncritical to take seriously. It’s odd that the lavishness of her latter days in Ethiopia, stemming from her closeness with the Emperor Haile Sellasie, are not examined under the light of her otherwise solidarity with impoverished people. Studying Sylvia Pankhurst is a worthy endeavor and no, no one is perfect, but it’s frustrating to stagger through a bloated book and be left with major gaps of analysis in evaluating her legacy.

[J Earl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sylvia Pankhurst: Natural Born Rebel by Rachel Holmes sweeps the reader along as we revisit much of 20th century history. This is so much more than just a biography of a remarkable woman, this is a history of some of the major struggles of last century.

I tend to read several books at a time and when I approach a lengthy book I try to figure out how much I want to read each day while giving the time and thought to my other reads. This is so well written and the subject was such a dynamic person that I found myself reading this faster than I intended. Even at the end of those three days I would have happily spent more time wrapped up in Pankhurst's life and Holmes' prose.

While many of the issues Pankhurst confronted are still with us today I think another valuable aspect of this work is showing the reader the types of decisions a person has to make if they decide to follow what they believe to be right. Taking a stand, broadly speaking, can be straightforward. But figuring out exactly how you're going to make that stand can put one at odds with people making the same general stand. It is in deciding specifically how one tries to make an impact that one really has to make tough decisions. Sometimes family and friends are sacrificed in the name of what is right. These more nuanced choices are highlighted in this volume because Pankhurst never shied away from the difficult decisions.

I highly recommend this to any reader interested in the early suffrage movements, as well as 20th century activism as a whole.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.

[Steve Donoghue]

The great human rights agitator Sylvia Pankhurst gets a wonderful, incredibly involving new biography. Rachel Holmes perfectly balances the human elements of this fierce fighter with at-times-inhuman drives that kept her working, writing, and speaking constantly. Here's my review: An overreaching and under-realistic philosophy revamp for mankind.

[Shahin Keusch · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Pankhurst name was familiar to me. The name occasionally came up on quiz shows. I knew that the name came up in connection with the struggle to get women the vote in the UK. This is as far as my knowledge took me. So when I saw this book on goodreads, it jumped out to me. I had to read it right away. So I bought it through Amazon and started reading and I was not able to put it down. This book proved to be much more than I expected. 


Sylvia Pankhurst was the second daughter of the Richard and Emmaline. The whole family from the start was involved in the women's movement. But it was Sylvia who would eventually branch out into other areas as well. She expanded her fight from women's suffrage to universal suffrage. Not just for the middle class, she was dedicated to making the lives of the working class poor better as well. She became a socialist/communist and even met and had a falling out with Lenin after which she was thrown out of the Communist party. Sylvia was never to theoretical but sought out practical solutions.  She saw the poverty and inequality around her and just wanted to improve the lives of those who were suffering. She would create programs like organizing cheap meals, organized maternity programs to improve the lives of women. She set up Care centers, nurseries, and even established her own cooperative factories where the workers were paid fair wages. Everything she did was dedicated to improving the lives of the poor and many of her programs would be studied by future governments when they were designing their socialist policies like the NHS. 


During WW1 Sylvia was a pacifist. But when fascism rose between the wars, she quickly understood that only war would be able to bring down those facist countries like Italy and Germany. When Italy invaded Ethiopia, she dedicated herself to helping Ethiopia in any way she could. It was during this time she met and befriended Hailie Selassie, the Ethiopian emperor. Sylvia was deeply anti colonial and would meet many of the future African leaders when she moved to Ethiopia. It was in Ethiopia where she would spend her final years of her life. 


Sylvia was always fully dedicated in making the world a better place. She never backed down from her beliefs and even went to jail on numerous occasions where they would subject her the various form of torture. While she made many enemies, she was also respected by many. The number of influential historical characters she met during her life was impressive. Churchill, Lenin and Hailie Selassie to name just a few. And they either loved or hated her. 


This book was very well written, it never got boring and was very educational. It is highly recommend for anyone to read.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having just finished this impressive biography of the greatest Pankhurst, I realise that today is, coincidentally, the 61st anniversary of Sylvia's death in her adopted homeland of Ethiopia!
Other reviewers have commented on the shoddy editing and evident lack of effective proof-reading, which is glaringly obvious throughout the book. However, leaving that issue to one side, I would prefer to focus on the contents and the life of this extraordinary woman.
Holmes focuses a lot on the work and character of father, Richard Pankhurst, and the guilt Sylvia felt about his untimely death, and her contention that this explains to a certain extent Sylvia's commitment and activism is a persuasive one.
One clear takeaway from this book is the huge gulf that develops between Sylvia, her mother Emmeline and (particularly) elder sister Christabel, who emerges as a shallow opportunist.
Clearly, Sylvia's role in the campaign for female suffrage is a pivotal part of her story, but it's a measure of the quality of this book that other campaigns in which she was involved are given equally detailed coverage by Rachel Holmes.
This is a fascinating study of an often overlooked giant of the 20th century; some of the 'supporting cast', from Keir Hardie to V I Lenin to Haile Sellasie attest to this, and the afterword rightly offers the view that the legacy and influence of Sylvia Pankhurst retains its relevance in the 21st century.
Thoroughly recommended!

[Josie Glausiusz-Kluger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sylvia Pankhurst was, quite simply, one of the most courageous women who have ever lived. Rachel Holmes' biography, "Sylvia Pankhurst: Natural Born Rebel," brings this marvelous, courageous campaigner for women's rights and human rights to life.

A suffragist, socialist, anti-Fascist, artist, journalist, writer, and brave opponent of the First World War, Sylvia Pankhurst was arrested 15 times while campaigning for the rights of women, and was forced-fed in prison multiple times. The middle daughter of suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst, one of the founders of the Women's Social and Political Union or WSPU (for which Sylvia designed their logo) she was also an early and enthusiastic supporter of Britain's Labour Party, and afterwards a communist, although she later quarreled with Lenin. (On Lenin's death in 1924, she declared his likely successor Joseph Stalin "unbearable.")

On the outbreak of World War I, "the Great War," Sylvia Pankhurst was publicly attacked by her mother Emmeline and sister Christabel--enthusiastic supporters of military conscription--as Sylvia herself opposed the war. In the East End of London, her Workers' Socialist Federation set up "cost-price" restaurants for workers and also established a toy factory. She welcomed anarchist refugees and revolutionaries to her home in London and, at the age of 45, gave birth to her only child, Richard, with her partner and lover, the Italian anarchist Silvio Corio.

Holmes describes all of this in fascinating detail, but what really resonates--in this bloody new era, as Russia invades Ukraine--is Sylvia Pankhurst's resolute opposition to Mussolini and the rise of Fascism in Italy. In her book "In the Red Twilight," she described, as Holmes notes, "the ominous rise of the fascist lust for power at the time when many people in Britain appeared willing to accept Mussolini and subsequently even Hitler as modernizing reformers, and when Churchill was cheerfully declaring himself 'charmed' by Mussolini."

As Holmes writes, "Sylvia was alert to the dangers of Mussolini's and, subsequently, of Hitler's rise to power."" She recognized the origins of fascism in Italy and their imitation in Germany: "It is quite simply gangster rule," she wrote, "and there will be no peace in the world until these dictators come down."

Sylvia Pankhurst opposed Italy's 1935 invasion and occupation of Ethiopia, immersing herself "in the cause of Ethiopia's struggle against Mussolini's war of imperialism." She wrote about this imperialist war in her newspaper, The New Times and Ethiopia News​​. In 1956, following the death of Corio, she moved to Ethiopia and remained there until her death in Addis Ababa in 1960 at the age of 78.

Holmes pays tribute to this extraordinary woman in the pages of her biography, but ultimately it is Sylvia Pankurst's own words that most inspire. In late life, she was asked to contribute to a collection by notable women on how they would like to be remembered after they were gone. Sylvia wrote of herself:

"Personal ambitions were to her both puny and ephemeral, because she realized that, when in a thousand years, all we who strive and labour in our passing days are dust, mankind will still be working out its destiny. She desired it might always be true of her that she never deserted a cause in its days of adversity. To give her energy to its early struggles was her habit, never waiting until advocacy had become popular. When victory for any cause came, she had little leisure to rejoice, none to rest; she had always some other objective in view."

"Sylvia Pankhurst: Natural Born Rebel," is inspiring and beautifully-researched and written; I highly recommend it.

[Anne Morgan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Only knowing the general outlines of the suffragette movement in England and the names of the Pankhurst women, I thought this would be a good book to learn more about Sylvia, her mother Emmeline, and the movement. At over 900 pages, the book covers Sylvia's life, her politics, both in England and abroad, and I felt like every single page was more of a slog than it was worth. Author Rachel Holmes goes into extremely detailed sideline biographies about seemingly every person Sylvia ever meets. The flow of the book is often disjointed and Holmes seems to assume the reader already knows enough about Pankhurst to jump ahead or look back instead of following a timeline. The writing was often highly repetitious, the editing could have been better, and could certainly have made the book more readable.
Overall, I can't recommend this to someone just wanting to learn about Sylvia Pankhurst for the first time. Perhaps someone who already knows a good deal about her would enjoy the book more. I have to say, it has put me off wanting to try another biography of the Pankhursts for awhile, strictly because of how little I liked dealing with the writing of this book, which is a shame.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest view.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

‘If you don’t work for other people you will not have been worth the upbringing’ (Sylvia’s father Richard Pankhurst).

Sylvia Pankhurst. Ever since I heard this name in Ethiopia I have wanted to find out about this quasi-mythical figure described by many a Habesha tourist guide as a hero of their lands. I couldn’t quite connect how someone who was born in Manchester could be so loved in Eastern Africa. And yet this work by Rachel Holmes published in 2020 opened my eyes into a world of incredible feats. All accomplished in one life. Born into a Mancunian progressive family, Sylvia met some of the most broadminded socialists in her household as a child, her father being a radical socialist who instilled in his daughters egalitarian values. Her parents were both politically engaged, and although she herself was a member of the Labour party, whose founder and parliamentary leader Keir Hardie she was romantically tied to in her early life, she eventually became more radicalised and supported communism for a while before being completely disappointed by Lenin’s policies. She fought for women’s rights, was imprisoned several times and went on several hunger strikes, the effects of which would remain with her throughout her life. She was an indefatigable fighter for the betterment of women’s lot, but also for the poor, the ill, the sick, the uneducated. Particularly in the East End of London. Some of her peers and many politicians found her ‘Joan of Arc style of unyielding battle for her causes tiresome’. However, she also was extremely sensitive and was an artist, having obtained a degree at the Royal College of Arts. Instead of pursuing an artistic career, however, she put her art at the service of her incredibly resilient civic spirit, leaving a legacy of drawings, paintings and political pamphlets. A prolific writer, she launched, edited and curated quite a few newspapers and books, and is remembered not only for being a radical suffragette, but also for her protection of refugees, her fight against fascism, and for her relentless support of all things Ethiopian. Although she closed her mind to the failings of Haile Selassie’s empire, she participated in many a projects in Ethiopia in the last decade of her life, after the death of her husband Silvio Corio. She settled in Addis and was buried there, where Ethiopians welcomed her as one of her own.

An incredible piece of writing and research. It merits a full five stars.

[Dana Mills]

Must read-- an incredible book. Pankhurst is one of the most important and forgotten leaders of her time, with a cohesiveness to her radicalism which is timely today-- she was ahead of her time in so many ways. Holmes's writing brings Sylvia back with us, and the struggles she was part of-- which have shaped our lives today, from the fight for the vote, to early social- democracy and anti- colonialism chime so strongly with our political struggles today. A wonderful book.

[Sarah Neal · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a long book but an absolutely fascinating read from start to finish. As well as an impeccably researched biography of the life of Sylvia Pankhurst, a truly extraordinary figure, it's also an indepth history of many of the most interesting events and ideas of the early twentieth century. It begins with the struggle for suffrage, with eye-watering accounts of the brutal hardships that Sylvia and other suffragettes endured throughout the battle to gain the vote. Closely tied in is the beginnings of the Labour movement, not least because Sylvia became deeply romantically entwined with Keir Hardie, the founder of the Labour party. The arguments and dilemmas around the fight for suffrage and how differences of opinion tore apart both families and political parties are both fascinating and prescient.
When the suffrage struggle was overshadowed by the First World War Sylvia was drawn towards communism, and the book charts her fierce debates with Lenin. She gave up her earliest passion, art, to become an activist and newspaper editor, and her publication was uncannily on the mark about many key issues of the day, most notably the dangers of appeasing Mussolini and the rise of fascism. It's against this backdrop that the final act of the book takes place, chronicling the epic fight against Italian occupation of Ethiopia, a land that Sylvia fell in love with and where she spent her last years, a friend and confidante of Emperor Hailie Selassie. She was revered and honoured in Ethiopia, with a state funeral and streets named after her, but it was not until recently that her legacy began to be recognised in her own country. This excellent book goes a long way towards helping that cause, and deserves be widely read.

[Lisa Bywell · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you need to build up your arm muscles, then this is the book for you with a hefty page count of 976. It will intellectually challenge you too with the detail and breadth of subject matter. Sadly, there was some sloppy editing which made me want to throw the book across the room but I couldn’t because it was SO heavy. I think all too often people lump the Pankhursts together as suffragettes but, as this book expertly shows, Sylvia was very different to Emmeline and Christabel. I’m firmly on Team Sylvia now; she dedicated her life to fighting for human rights and equality.

[Teresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I remember watching a TV series called Shoulder to Shoulder in the 70's and being very impressed by Sylvia Pankhurst in it. Afterwards I read all I could about her, which wasn't that much then, so I was really looking forward to this. Unfortunately, it was not as good as I had hoped it would be. It is riddled with repetitions that become tiresome and is full of some totally unnecessary detail. A ruthless edit would have greatly improved it.

[Andrew Canfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sylvia Pankhurst: Natural Born Rebel is an exhaustive look at the life of an eclectic leader in the twentieth century feminist movement.

Sylvia was steeped in social and political movements from the time of her birth in 1882 Manchester, England. Her attorney father, Dr. Richard Pankhurst, was active in the British socialist and labor movements. Her mother Emmeline Pankhurst was also an activist, campaigning extensively for women's suffrage in late nineteenth century Britain.

From her youth she was brought up in an atmosphere of envelope-pushing progressive politics.

The book takes ample time detailing how Sylvia's youth and subsequent worldview was shaped by Richard and Emmeline's activism, particularly when it came to the expansions of women's rights. She would be arrested eight times, enduring the scorn of those who wanted to maintain the existing patriarchal western power structure in Britain.

She also dabbled in Communist politics during its early days post-World War One. Fair wages and the extension of suffrage were the two causes which came across as dearest to her heart.

She would do everything within her power, including setting up meetings with Britain's political power structure and organizing protests, to draw attention to the suffragette cause.

Sylvia had an extensive relationship with Labour Party founder Keir Hardie, and Holmes devotes ample time to discussing the delicate balancing act nature of their bond. Sylvia-like most leaders in a trailblazing movement-was not always known for a devotion to conventionality and the typical standards of transactionary politics. Hardy, on the other hand, had to remain cognizant of taking political angles into consideration.

But the most important male relationship in her life was not with her father Richard or her lover mentor Kier. It was instead a platonic, albeit meaningful, one with a member of African royalty.

Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia was man Sylvia had deep admiration for. His steadfastness in the face of invasion from Mussolini's Italy and the manner in which he stoically handled being essentially thrown under the bus by Europe and the League of Nations earned Sylvia's respect.

Holmes analyzes how Sylvia came to form strong anti-fascist views as the 1930s rolled on, holding her out to be someone who was alert to the threat posed by this movement well before it gained strong footholds in places like Germany and Italy. Her deep hatred of injustice and desire to be a voice for the voiceless perhaps made her more aware of the dangers inherent in militant fascism.

Selassie's experience at the hands of Mussolini, as well as knowledge of Britain's own overseas sins, resulted in Sylvia also becoming an outspoken anti-colonialist. This would put her at odds with such statesman as Winston Churchill, as her willingness to speak out often stepped on the toes of even mainstream British leaders.

This sense of justice also led her to break ranks with the Soviet Union following Joseph Stalin's ascension and subsequent power grabs. The book paints her as an idealist who held out early home for Marxism's success but also as an individual who was informed enough to know when to abandon hope that Moscow would serve as any sort of beacon for social and economic justice.

Her son Richard would carry on the family connections to Ethiopia. Richard Pankhurst would become a respected Ethiopian historian in Addis Ababa and a scholar who deeply valued African culture prior to his 2017 passing.

Sylvia could best of all be described as a woman with a strong social conscience. Rachel Holmes delved deep into both her family and public life (her sisters Adela and Christabel were also active in the suffrage movement and co-founded the Women's Social Political Union alongside Emmeline and Sylvia).

Her story drives home how the historical ball can frequently be advanced by vanguards extending the Overton Window and allowing new thoughts once considered sacrilege to gain mainstream acceptance. The discomfort of multiple imprisonments and the divisions caused by her movement's oftentimes confrontational (if not outright militant) tactics make clear the sacrifices she was ready to endure for her suffragette beliefs.

Sylvia Pankhurst: Natural Born Rebel, while certainly lengthy, creates a well-rounded portrait of a lady with a strong sense of conviction. It is by no means hagiography and takes its time telling a story that those who treasure social justice will certainly gain meaning from reading.

-Andrew Canfield Denver, Colorado

[Tom Bantle · Rating 4 out of 5]

As one who was totally ignorant, I picked up this biography thinking it was of the woman acclaimed by Mrs. Banks in Disney's Mary Poppins: "Take heart! For Missus Pankhurst has been clapped in irons again!" Well, I was wrong.

After reading the 840 pages of text, I came to realize Sylvia Pankhurst should be a heroine to women (and men) everywhere. Yes, she was the daughter of Mrs. Pankhurst (see above). But whereas Mrs. Pankhurst was fighting for the right to vote for upper-class women, Sylvia was always the champion of the working, poor women. As a Socialist/Communist, Sylvia was expelled by her mother and sister, Christabel from the mainline suffragette organization, despite being the single longest force-fed suffragette hunger-striker.

Trained as an artist (the Tate recently purchased four of her paintings), Sylvia abandoned that work to work indefatigably for the down-trodden of the world. She eschewed marriage as she was the lover of the first Labor-Party Member of Parliament. At age 45, she gave birth to a son with her then-lover, a radical exiled from Italy. She was a strong supporter of birth control to give women control over their lives. She engaged Lenin is a public debate on how Communism should be pursued in Britain and abandoned Communism as the Russian party became increasingly bureaucratic and despotic. She was a very early vocal opponent of Mussolini and Hitler and worked to change Britain's immigration policies on refugees, both Jewish and others. When Italy invaded Ethiopia, she became the prime British supporter of the Ethiopian resistance and Emperor Haile Selassie. She understood that as the only country in Africa not colonized by Europeans, he represented the future of African, leading in the fight to throw off the European colonial rule.

As a constituent of Winston Churchill's, she was a constant thorn in his side and that of the British Foreign Ministry because of her constant criticism of their colonial and anti-refugee policies.

The last decades of her life she lived in Ethiopia working on women's health issues, education, promotion of art. At her death, Emperor Selassie make her the only foreigner to receive a state funeral and to be buried in the churchyard of the national church. Her son Richard and daughter-in-law continued her work in Ethiopia until their own deaths.

These are just a few of the highlights of an extraordinary life, exhaustively described in this 840-page biography and 65-pages of endnotes. Perhaps the length of the work exacerbated the writer's and her editor's difficulties in organizing the material: it's generally chronological, but with a lot of skipping around and some repetition on various topics. I especially criticize the editors, Michael Fishwick and Peter James for not catching a number of repetitions of the same sentence within a few lines.

But Miss Pankhurst's astounding life and accomplishments make it worthwhile for the reader to plow through. The biography deserves five stars for its content, but the organization provides obstacles to the reader's enjoyment.

[Charlie Beaumont · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rachel Holmes is a marvellous biographer (I also enjoyed her biography of the wonderful Eleanor Marx). She brings Sylvia to life in such an absorbing way and what a brilliant, positive and humane character she was. The book enables us to understand the context of all her activities and the influences and the other personalities who supported her and kept her going as well as those who opposed her. I can more than understand the sentiment expressed by Vanessa Redgrave when she says she fell in love with Sylvia. I don't know what Sylvia would have thought of me but I am sure I would have learned much from her. The biography consistently feels to be an objective account as there is very helpful analysis of her views and actions and challenges when her actions are seemingly not in accord with her stated principles. This is particularly interesting when, she as a democrat and with strong Left leanings, was tolerant of the Ethiopian monarch, Haile Selassie, and the extent of control over the political life of the country. The biography does show a woman who achieved so much, who has been consistently found, with the benefit of hindsight, to have been so right. Her warnings about fascism, firstly concerning Italy and Mussolini, and secondly about Hitler in Germany, were so right but many in the UK political world, including Churchill, were supportive of Mussolini, and of his activities and barbarism in Ethiopia. I have in reading this book had a wonderful experience and have learned so much. I am incredibly grateful to Rachel Holmes and so pleased that the world has had someone like Sylvia Pankhurst amongst us. I feel very emotional when reflecting on her and her care and compassion for others.

[Holly Cruise]

I saw a negative review of this book which said that one of the problems was that it tells the life story of every single person of note that Sylvia Pankhurst came into contact with in her long and distinguished life. It does. For me, this is a massive massive positive and indicative of why I loved this 950 page brick.

Rachel Holmes has resolved to tell Sylvia's story, with every high and every low; every triumph and every set back; every time she did something which we should learn from today and every time she did something we would never do in the c21st. To call this book thorough would be an understatement. It is everything you need to learn about the Best Pankhurst.

Why yes, I am biased here, writing in the city where it all began for the Pankhurst clan, Manchester. When I was in Ethiopia I made the effort to go to the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Addis Ababa where she is buried in patriots section. Not just a suffragette, but a champion of the working class and a strong anti-colonialist and anti-racist. Best. Pankhurst. This book was written for me.

It's brilliantly written. Holmes captures everything in engaging text. And I mean engaging, she engages with what Sylvia did and said (and when those two things were in conflict) and offers analysis where relevant. Holmes writes as if she is a deeply informed, critical friend.

If you're going to invest in a gigantic mega-book of many many pages, you want those pages to be filled with fascinating information. This is that book. Brilliant.

[Simon B · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant life, brilliantly told. Yes she had her flaws like any other human being (and I believe Lenin got the better of her in their famous debates about Communist strategy in the 1920s) but, seriously, could Sylvia Pankhurst's career as a political agitator be any more admirable? Pioneering feminist & suffragette, unrepentant militant subjected to imprisonment & torture, radical socialist, champion of working class liberation, an indefatigable author, publisher & publicist, ardent anti-fascist, fierce opponent of racism, strident anti-imperialist, lifelong internationalist, a scourge of hypocritical liberals and jingoistic conservatives, & treasured as an anti-colonial hero in Ethiopia.

I was very impressed and inspired by Rachel Holmes' earlier biography Eleanor Marx: A Life and now, having completed this tome, I'm pretty much obliged to read everything else she has written. This book is a must for anyone interested in British radical history.

[Tilden · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought Sylvia's biography because I had recently read a book by her mother, Emmeline Pankhurst. Also, I read a review of this book and was fascinated by Sylvia and wanted to know more about her.

What an incredible woman and activist. She was ahead of her time and rebelled against the social conventions and thinking of the time. She believed and acted on her convictions which led her to become estranged from her mother, and sister, Christabel.

The book also discussed the inner workings of the militant sufferage movement that her mother and Christabel led. (It was very autocratic and it's members had no say in the decisions of strategy, such as bombing members of parliment's houses.

There are issues of poor editing and repetition in the book but it is not enough reason to not read this biography of this remarkable woman. She can be an inspiration to all of us. Essentially, "Don't mourn, organize!"

[Jane Griffiths · Rating 4 out of 5]

She was one on her own

This is.an impressive biography. It's on Sylvia's side, of course, otherwise why write it? We all know, or think we do, about the "suffragettes" (Who didn't call themselves that), but it's Emmeline, Sylvia's mother, who has a statue next to Parliament. Sylvia was an unwavering socialist, and her views and life are still radical today. I hadn't known that much about her, not even that she had a long relationship with Keir Hardie, who was much older than her, that she didn't marry, out.of.conviction, but had a child in her forties, that she had a long and close relationship of friendship with Haile Selassie, and that she spent the last year's of her life in Ethiopia, where she died. A fascinating read, about a highly singular, and.probably difficult, woman. We do not see many of her like in a century.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This well researched (and long) biography of Sylvia Pankhurst brings the life of an important woman to light. Pankhurst, part of a family who advocated women's suffrage, suffered forced feedings and abuse for the cause. She lived an unconventional life--advocating communism early and visiting Lenin's USSR, writing pamphlets, speaking, organizing marches and strikes. She also had enough sense to realize the communist experiment would not work, and thought socialism would be a better solution to society's ills. She became an early anti-fascist and recognized the danger of Hitler. Taking an Italian lover, she had a child out of wedlock, shocking many (including her mother). She became an advocate for Ethiopia and ended her days there.

This is such a brief outline--read the book.

[R. M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

An incredible, in depth account of one of the most remarkable women in British history. Packed with anecdotes both fascinating and amusing, every page is filled with quotes from Sylvia and the people who loved and hated her, spliced with a blunt narrative voice that doesn't impose on the biography she is recounting. Sylvia's acts are presented without idolisation and evaluated in both positive and critical lights. The language used is largely political and heavy with jargon, but with breaks between sections the text is clear and straight forward.
My only gripe is that the text need proof reading one more time before printing. There were several repeated words and phrases, as well as some sentences that appeared to have words missing.
Overall, this was an enjoyable and enlightening read.

[Michellelester · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sylvia P’s life was absolutely incredible and this book presents it, I imagine, in every detail. A radical, passionate, principled woman who fought not only for the rights of women but for class and racial justice. She was amazing, a precious jewel who should be better known for all her layers. But the book can be a bit laborious at times; the style can be prosaic, and editing looks to have fallen foul of the pandemic because there are a significant amount of errors that really irritate you in a book which has the tenor of something otherwise authoritative. Hopefully, the poor proofreading will be corrected for future editions.

[Thaddeus Bradley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Clocking in at around 850 pages, what this biography needed most was a ruthless editor. Holmes is a passionate biographer, seeking to frame every written belief of Pankhurst's in the light of her lived experience, but the incessant exposition spools this story out far further than is digestible for the common reader.

This biography is also non-linear, and the constant time hopping left me disoriented.

That said, Pankhurst's story is incredibly compelling, and, like all the best biographers, Holmes reveals a portrait of a woman that is at once grounded in her time, while timeless in the truths she fought and lived for.

[Nadina · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an incredible, amazing person Sylvia Pankhurst was. This was a long biography, but it was well worth the read. I am giving it 5 stars because it made me think, it made me stop in shock/awe, and it made me cry. This woman was incredible, she went through so much, and she kept fighting for what she believed in. More so than her mother and older sister.
I wouldn't necessarily recommend it as a book EVERYONE should read, but if you have an interest in learning more about this incredible woman, this is an amazing source.

[Stephanie Mathivet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well not finished yet. It’s an absolute tome! Fantastic story of my best heroine. Lots of detail about her on a personal level. Spoiler alert .. her affair with Kier Hardie! I’ve read many books by or about Sylvia Pankhurst. This one feels as if you are walking through her life with her. I’m almost a third of the way through and loving to be with this unfolding of her politically and relationally.

[Maryann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sylvia was an amazing human being. She led an exemplary life. Consistently trying to help people, willing to reevaluate and change her opinions but always defending the underdog and fighting oppression. Her biographer certainly thought Sylvia could have walked on water if she had tried. The book sometimes comes across as a list of her accomplishments because the author doesn’t want to leave anything out. It felt like a very long read but I am glad I found out about such a wonderful person.

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book about the ethical life. Pankhurst's was a life full of adventure, and significant shifts, from suffrage, to communism, anti-racism and Ethiopian solidarity. Through it all, she cooked badly, wrote well and maintained a dishevelled cool. The biography, like Pankhurst, is clear, literate, scientific and absorbing.

[Melinda Morrison · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sylvia is an absolutely remarkable woman whose impacted on the world can’t be overstated but this book needed an editor. I counted at least 2 sentences that were duplicated and in book that over 800 pages, that’s nuts. Some chapters were fascinating but would have read better if less verbose and repetitive.