Sally Heathcoat Suffragettes
‘Sally Heathcoat Suffragettes’ is a historical tale, illuminating one of the most highly regarded social movements in British history; the feminist up rise that brought forward the right for women to vote.
‘Sally Heathcoat’, a working class activist joined the women’s suffrage movement through a chance opportunity working for Mrs Emily Pankhurst, the head of the Women’s social and political union (WSPU). The tale documents the irreverent acts of the Suffragettes who after much diplomacy with the patriarchy, resorted to breaking the windows on Oxford Street, setting fire to buildings and chaining themselves to railings!
Sally joined the WSPU initially sewing badges for the demonstrations, which fast progressed into being arrested and convicted for assaulting a policeman during protest. Whilst imprisoned, the torturous ‘forcible feeding’ motivated Sally to join the radical ‘young hot bloods’, a more militant side of the feminist movement. As the ‘danger work’ became darker, Sally finds herself aware of the irony of using violent protest for the cause of human equality and decides to opt out of the group at the expense of being labelled a pacifist traitor.
The story neatly stitches through Sally’s past and present, ending with the sad paradox of modern youth being less enthused to vote, even after such fight was made to gain human equality. With the recent ‘Women of the World’ festival at Southbank in London, this publication comes out as another great celebration of how protest changes society. If you believe in standing up against the odds for the good of posterity, read this book!
The Quote
‘Rise up women! For the
Fight is hard and long,
Rise in thousands,
Singing loud a battle song’
The Author
The book is written and illustrated by the renowned graphic novelist couple Mary and Bryan Talbot, who won the Costa award and are the creators of both “Dotter of Her Fathers eyes’ and “The Tale of One Bad Rat”. Teamed up with acclaimed illustrator KAte Charlesworth, ‘Sally Heathcoat’ is well worth reading.
The Book
Published by Jonathan Cape
ISBN-10: 0224097865
22.3 x 16 x 2.5 cm
£16.99
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