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1919: Two suffragettes find each other amidst the chaos of war
1919: Two suffragettes find each other amidst the chaos of war
Ellen and Kate were best friends and committed suffragettes. On the eve of the Great War, Kate burned down a church. A man died and she disappeared. Sixteen years later, Ellen and her brother Freddie have rebuilt their lives after the trauma of war and loss. She is overjoyed when Kate reappears. But Kate is consumed by remorse over the death. They enlist the help of Alec, Freddie’s ex-lover, to find out what happened that day in the church. There are ties from the past that bind them all: guilt, fear, pride. Can they break free from these and reclaim the lives they deserve?
London and the Suffragettes. This is the London of social restrictions and restrictions on every day life if you were a woman. This is a portrayal of London and the political movement that led to women getting the vote. We see how the suffragettes were arrested, treated in general and brutally opposed by not just mobs but the police too. You get to see the various sides of the rights and wrongs of what these women were doing and are left to make up your own mind against the political backdrop of the time.
There are several gay characters (or queer as they are referred to in the book) so this novel also looks at what it meant to be an outsider in society at the time, not just due to your sex but your sexuality.
Manchester
62 Nelson Street was the home of Emmeline Pankhurst and her family for over eight years. The significance of this particular residence is that in 1903, it played host to the very first meeting of the Suffragettes, specifically the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU). By 1908, all the Pankhursts had moved to London to be at the heart of events. The house has since become The Pankhurst Centre.
Destination/location: London Author/guide: Fiona Graph Departure Time: 1919 onwards
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