Votes For Women: 8 Books About the Suffragettes

On this day 100 years ago, some British women were granted the right to vote. The Representation of the People Act of 1918 was passed on February 6th, 1918, establishing voting rights for women who were over 30 and: a property owner, a University graduate voting in a university constituency, a member of government, or married to a member of government.

To celebrate, I wanted to share eight books about the suffragettes that are on my TBR list.

Fiction

Things a Bright Girl Can Do by Sally Nicholls

Things a Bright Girl Can Do is a young adult novel centered around three young women who become involved in the fight for women’s suffrage. It’s a coming-of-age story set in a period of great sociopolitical change and featuring diverse characters.

 

 

 

The Hourglass Factory by Lucy Ribchester

A rich historical fiction novel featuring trapeze artists, newspaper journalists, corset shops, society parties, and of course suffragettes. The Hourglass Factory sounds like an engrossing read with plenty of mystery.

 

 

 

No Surrender by Constance Maud 

First published in 1911, No Surrender offers a contemporary fictional account of the suffrage movement. It tells the story of mill girls and members of the aristocracy as they fight side by side for the cause.

 

 

 

 

Impossible Saints by Clarissa Harwood

This newly released historical fiction novel tells the story of a blossoming relationship between a progressive suffragette and an Anglican priest. It sounds a little bit like the love story in The Essex Serpent but with the addition of women’s suffrage.

 

 

 

 

Nonfiction 

Hearts and Minds: The Untold Story of the Great Pilgrimage and How Women Won the Vote by Jane Robinson

Hearts and Minds is a well-researched examination of how British women won the vote. Robinson’s new release is the “story of ordinary people affecting extraordinary change.”

 

 

 

Suffragettes: The Fight for Votes for Women edited by Joyce Marlow

This collection brings together the firsthand accounts of the remarkable women who fought for the vote. Suffragettes draws from their letters, diary entries, journals, and newspaper clippings to bring their voices to life.

 

 

 

My Own Story by Emmeline Pankhurst 

Emmeline Pankhurst is perhaps the most iconic figure in the British suffragette movement, and she led a fascinating life. I look forward to reading about her work and her experiences in her own words.

 

 

 

Rise Up Women! The Remarkable Lives of the Suffragettes by Diane Atkinson

This comprehensive tome acts as a biography of the British suffragette movement. Atkinson shines a light on the brave and determined women from every walk of life who fought for so long and so hard to be granted the right to vote.

 

 

 

This is obviously a UK centric list, but if you have recommendations of books about women’s suffrage in the US, please share them! I’m hoping there will be some wonderful new releases published in 2020 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment.

 

Header image credit: WSPU Poster by Hilda Dallas, 1909. Private Collection.

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