Millicent Garrett Fawcett The Fight for Votes for Women

When Tessa Blackstone moved in to 2 Gower Street, London, she was delighted to discover that a previous tenant had been Millicent Garrett Fawcett, the suffragist leader who dedicated her life to securing women’s right to vote. But Tessa could not find a recent biography of this impressive woman, as the historical narrative favoured the militant suffragettes over the suffragists, who campaigned within the law and disapproved of violence. Some years later, Tessa resolved to fix the omission herself and began to uncover Millicent’s life story.
Growing up in a large family in Suffolk, Millicent and her sisters challenged Victorian views about the role of women in their pursuit of education, employment and enfranchisement. Getting married at twenty did not deter Millicent from becoming a writer and feminist campaigner. Her husband Henry Fawcett, a blind academic and Liberal politician, shared her views and encouraged her. She was devastated by his early death, but her grit and determination kept her going. Over many decades, she battled against indifference and prejudice and was successful in not only winning women the vote but also fighting for improvements in their educational opportunities and employment prospects.
Brimming with charming anecdotes about Millicent’s life from cradle to grave, this is the definitive biography of an extraordinary activist and campaigner who changed Britain’s political landscape for ever.
Reviews
“A must-read for anyone interested in the long road towards equality for women. Millicent Fawcett comes across as remarkable in her fight for a better deal for women on many fronts. Clever, determined and energetic, she was a feminist whose battles are still relevant today.”
Harriet Harman, chair of the Fawcett Society and former Leader of the House of Commons
“A lively and readable account of the rich and varied life of a leader whose gender shut her out of mainstream politics. Today, it seems extraordinary that until 1918, not only were women barred from being MPs – they could not even vote. Undaunted by the power and status of Prime Ministers, Millicent Fawcett led a fifty-year campaign to persuade them to change their minds, and Tessa Blackstone explores this fascinating story with verve.”
David Blunkett, former Home Secretary
“A must-read for anyone curious about a great feminist activist. Tessa Blackstone’s admiration and respect for Millicent Garrett Fawcett have resulted in an intimate, engaged biography, showing how one woman can change the world.”
Professor Joanna Bourke, Birkbeck, University of London
“A wonderfully readable account of a seminal period in British protest history, when it was proved that it does not take violence to win an argument.”
Simon Jenkins, journalist and author
“No one is in a better position than Baroness Blackstone to revisit the life and work of Millicent Fawcett, Britain’s most famous fighter for women’s suffrage. This carefully and compassionately written biography reveals a woman who campaigned fiercely and tirelessly for a wide range of emancipatory causes for over half a century. Above all, the book brings Fawcett to life as a person enmeshed in a network of close and supportive family relationships and as a key member of those social and political circles that helped to bring (and sometimes drag) Victorian society into the modern age.”
Ann Oakley, author of Forgotten Wives: How Women Get Written Out of History
“Tessa Blackstone’s fascinating biography of Millicent Fawcett is both scholarly and highly engaging. It provides an insight into not only the multifaceted life of this extraordinary campaigner for women’s rights but also the hugely talented and influential family of which she was part and the social and political times in which she played a leading role.”
Helene Hayman, former Lord Speaker
“Never forget how hard-fought women’s rights have been. This excellent biography is a reminder that all progress begins with a minority campaign regarded as eccentric at the time but which is only later seen as heroic.”
Polly Toynbee, journalist and author
Share this book
Buy this book
- Hardback, 304 pages
- ISBN: 9781785908552
- 24 October 2024
- £20.00
- eBook
- ISBN: 9781785909320
- 24 October 2024
- £14.99