This book starts in Victorian Britain with information about the census and the type of working conditions the women had to endure. Centring on the harsh farming jobs and conditions they put up with. As Northumberland was sparsely populated it was the ideal farming area.
It isn’t until we move into the Edwardian age that Suffrage & the Suffragettes movement is mentioned. What did surprise me was that quite a number of men gave their support and help to the movement. The book gives a good amount of detail about Emily Davison, the lady who later went on to throw herself in front of the Kings horse. (Taking things into her own hands, though now there seems to be some doubt as to what was supposed to happen). This lady seems to have been rather a maverick, taking matters into her own hands without the permission of the WSPU. The horse incident really seems to have been the turning point in 1913, and then of course came the First World War when it was estimated that 2 million women replaced men in employment & proved invaluable in the war effort.
This book also contains an index which can often prove useful for family historians.

Doncaster & District Family History Society (Doncaster Ancestor)

As a big fan and supporter of promoting women’s history, this series of books combined in the format of my favourite ‘Your Towns and Cities’ series it’s quite obvious that I am going to enjoy it and recommend it to others. Just like the Your Towns and Cities it gives you a good history of local news and events that affect the area, combined with a small slice of national news of the time. An excellent combination and ideal for the person who wants to learn about local history and how that can coincide with national events. I really enjoyed this book indeed, and I also got to learn about how Emily Davison’s mother came from the area and we got a glimpse at how they saw the suffrage movement from their own rural opinion. Along with how Emily Davison is buried there in a quiet graveyard. My only criticism of the book was that it was a bit short and I would have liked to have read a longer book or it could have gone into more depth. Written by Craig Armstrong, having read a few of his I like his writing style which helped with the enjoyment of the book. Have a look at this book or certainly some of the others from this series.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐


Read the full review here

UK Historian