"This is a good read and, it creates a nicely nuanced and complex portrait of Charlotte Despard."

North West Labour History Journal

I had never heard of Mrs. Despard so it was interesting to get to know her in this book. The author's writing was great and you could tell that they did the research.

NetGalley, Kay McLeer

Mrs Despard and the Suffrage Movement: Founder of the Women’s Freedom League was such a brilliant book. Its a period of history especially women’s history that I find fascinating and would like to know more about.

Mrs Despard was such a extraordinary, smart and talented woman who did so much for the Women’s Suffrage Movement. This book was utterly fascinating, well-written, well-researched, thoroughly engaging, informative and completely enjoyable. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who is interested in women’s history.

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Where There's Ink There's Paper

A thoroughly good read, a book where you learn a lot, and one that I hope could be read by more people than it will seem to. The book is very comprehensive and looks at Despard’s life from the beginning and upbringing, through to her marriage, why she became a suffragette, and her life supporting women, the working class and her campaigns to help in Ireland. The book is very well written by this mother and daughter authors, which went into excellent detail but kept the story alive.

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UK Historian

Biography of an extraordinary woman who fought for better conditions for the poor and especially the rights of women. I don't understand the reference to "identifying with Milton's Satan", but other than that Helen and Lynne bring Charlotte Despard rightly to our attention at a time when the only suffragette that really springs to mind is Emmeline Pankhurst...

Books Monthly

I’ve read widely about the Suffragists/Suffragettes and their fight for the vote but somehow Mrs Despard, a quite remarkable woman, had eluded me and it was a real joy to discover her in this comprehensive biography. She was at the heart of the movement for women’s suffrage as well as a host of other philanthropic ventures, and later in life became a key player in Irish liberation politics. She knew just about everyone of importance in the causes she devoted her life too and led a truly adventurous and endlessly fascinating life. And yet she is not a household name by any means and I hope this well-researched biography will change that. The book has its faults – the chronology is a little muddled at times and there is some repetition – but these faults can surely be forgiven given Mrs Despard’s importance and relevance to early women’s history and the need to make her more visible. An absorbing and compelling read, from which I learnt a lot.

NetGalley, Mandy Jenkinson

If you're interested in learning about women's history and the suffragette movement then pick this up because this book was fabulous.

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Lil's Vintage World

Mrs Despard and The Suffrage Movement is a well researched and enlightening book about not only Mrs Despard, but the women's rights movent in general. She's often overlooked, but she did a lot of work, not only for women, but also workers and the poor. I wish more people knew about her.

NetGalley, Kristin Jørgensen

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Throughout my women's studies education I was dismayed when I read this book that I had not known of Mrs. Despard prior to reading this book. She is a fascinating important part of women's history ! She was the key central figure of our history of the women's movement. A amazing woman ahead of her time of independence and knowledge. She was driven to fight for women's rights and for fairness for all women in a time of a strict male dominated society where her work at times had the result of her being imprisoned and treated like a pariah in society. She bravely led hunger strikes in prison and was force fed against her will. She was central in the creation of the Women’s Freedom League which remained in existence until 1961. She fought for women her entire adult life and even in failing health in her later years she did not deter from her goals.
She was known for giving amazing speeches and putting on numerous demonstrations no matter what she was up against at the time. Her courage both help create and galvanize the suffrage movement. She is a great part of women's history and this book should be utilized in all women's studies classes. I thank the author for this outstanding body of work and am grateful to have read about this brilliant woman . This book should be taught in all women's history courses.

NetGalley, Cozy Cat Reviews

I think the cover is very striking, the image of Mrs Despard with the demonstration banner in the background. The cover made me want to know more about the rather finely dressed lady on the cover. I wanted to know why I hadn’t heard her name widely used in connection to the suffrage movement along with the others I knew rather well such as Emmeline Pankhurst and her daughters Sylvia & Christabel. I was also familiar with the tragic story of Emily Wilding-Davison and had heard other names but not the name of Mrs Despard. On the cover Mrs Charlotte Despard looks like a stern, wealthy woman and after reading the book I have learnt that she wasn’t afraid of speaking out and going against what others thought... To sum up I found this book a great read about an amazing woman who inspired other to fight for their rights.

NetGalley, Sandra Richardson