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kerrygetsliterary's review against another edition
informative
fast-paced
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Child death, Confinement, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Abortion and War
serendipitysbooks's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
4.0
I was delighted when @bookpublicityservices offered me a copy of The Accidental Suffragist to review. It is so totally in my wheelhouse. Many, many years ago I was a PhD student researching women’s political history and the interest remains. Although I’m familiar with women’s suffrage campaigns in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United Kingdom my knowledge for the United States doesn’t extend much beyond Seneca Falls and the date the vote was finally won. This historical fiction novel helped fill some of that gap.
Helen Fox is a mother of four and a factory worker living in a New York tenement. A chance meeting and a sense of guilt and anger at the death of her twelve year old in the Triangle Shirtwaist fire leads to her involvement in the suffragist movement.
I loved learning more about the struggle of US women to achieve the vote. The 1913 Women’s Suffrage Procession, the first large scale political march in Washington, was new to me and I was fascinated by the insight into how it came about - all the logistical organisation, the fund raising and the political rationale behind it. The Night of Terror was also new to me and it was totally terrifying. The illegal and immoral actions of police and prison staff were reprehensible. Sadly, recent events which led to to calls to defund the police and end the prison industrial complex have a long history.
I really appreciated the way the issue of class was handled in this book. Helen was a working class woman but many of the suffrage leaders were middle or upper class and despite their good intentions were often clueless to the realities of love for a working woman. Simple things like Helen not being able to afford to order a sandwich when a meeting was held in a luncheonette, her mixed feelings about the clothes other suffrage women passed on to her, and the utter impossibility of factory workers taking a week or two off work to attend the 1913 parade all shone light on this class divide.
Apart from the focus on the suffrage movement I was also interested in Helen as a character. Her grief at the death of her eldest daughter was beautifully depicted and palpable. It was also clear that Helen and her husband grieved differently - she was motivated to join the suffrage cause; he lost the motivation to continue his trade union activities - and that this created a gap between them. Helen’s involvement with the suffragists also created tension between the couple. He only reluctantly acquiesced to her attending the 1913 march and later prevented her from living in their home and seeing their children, since her arrest was so shameful. The story also highlighted other personal costs Helen suffered due to her suffrage activities - guilt at the time spent away from her children and household tasks, alienation from many in her local community and of course lasting physical injuries following the assault in prison. Despite this Helen’s belief in the need for the vote remained strong and the story showcased the ways her suffrage work enhanced her self-esteem. It was lovely to see her younger daughters recognise this at the story’s end.
Thanks again @bookpublicityservices for the gifted copy. I’m glad I had the opportunity to read it. I’d certainly recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading stories about strong women and to anyone who enjoys learning new things through their fictional reading.
Helen Fox is a mother of four and a factory worker living in a New York tenement. A chance meeting and a sense of guilt and anger at the death of her twelve year old in the Triangle Shirtwaist fire leads to her involvement in the suffragist movement.
I loved learning more about the struggle of US women to achieve the vote. The 1913 Women’s Suffrage Procession, the first large scale political march in Washington, was new to me and I was fascinated by the insight into how it came about - all the logistical organisation, the fund raising and the political rationale behind it. The Night of Terror was also new to me and it was totally terrifying. The illegal and immoral actions of police and prison staff were reprehensible. Sadly, recent events which led to to calls to defund the police and end the prison industrial complex have a long history.
I really appreciated the way the issue of class was handled in this book. Helen was a working class woman but many of the suffrage leaders were middle or upper class and despite their good intentions were often clueless to the realities of love for a working woman. Simple things like Helen not being able to afford to order a sandwich when a meeting was held in a luncheonette, her mixed feelings about the clothes other suffrage women passed on to her, and the utter impossibility of factory workers taking a week or two off work to attend the 1913 parade all shone light on this class divide.
Apart from the focus on the suffrage movement I was also interested in Helen as a character. Her grief at the death of her eldest daughter was beautifully depicted and palpable. It was also clear that Helen and her husband grieved differently - she was motivated to join the suffrage cause; he lost the motivation to continue his trade union activities - and that this created a gap between them. Helen’s involvement with the suffragists also created tension between the couple. He only reluctantly acquiesced to her attending the 1913 march and later prevented her from living in their home and seeing their children, since her arrest was so shameful. The story also highlighted other personal costs Helen suffered due to her suffrage activities - guilt at the time spent away from her children and household tasks, alienation from many in her local community and of course lasting physical injuries following the assault in prison. Despite this Helen’s belief in the need for the vote remained strong and the story showcased the ways her suffrage work enhanced her self-esteem. It was lovely to see her younger daughters recognise this at the story’s end.
Thanks again @bookpublicityservices for the gifted copy. I’m glad I had the opportunity to read it. I’d certainly recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading stories about strong women and to anyone who enjoys learning new things through their fictional reading.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Police brutality
Moderate: Child death and Rape
More...