In this well-structured, fluent and lively account, Paula Bartley uses new archival material to assess whether Pankhurst should be seen as a heroine or a tyrant, a conservative or a progressive.Emmeline Pankhurst was the most prominent campaigner for the women's right to vote and was transformed into a popular heroine of the early twentieth century. Early in life she was attracted to socialism, she grew into an entrenched and militant suffragette and ended up as a Conservative Party candidate.This new biography examines the guiding principles that underpinned all of Emmeline Pankhurst's actions, and places her achievements within a wider social and political context.
Introduction: Principles before politics PART I A POLITICAL APPRENTICESHIP 1858–1903 1 Shaping a life 1858–80 2 The Liberal years 1880–94 3 The ILP years 1894–1903 PART II THE SUFFRAGETTE STORY 1903–14 4 Suffragette beginnings 1903–07 5 Deeds and words 1908–09 6 Deeds not words 1910–12 7 The height of militancy 1913–14 8 International fund-raising 1909–13 PART III LIFE AFTER THE VOTE 1914–28 9 The First World War 1914–18 10 Life after the war 1918–28
'Paula Bartley provides us with the feminist biography of Pankhurst for which we have been eagerly waiting.' - Harold L. Smith, University of Houston, Victoria.'...this is a very useful and accessible text for both student and teacher. Her research is thorough and far reaching and leaves few unanswered questions about Emmeline Pankhurst.' - Susan Johnson, Women's History Magazine, June 2003