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I was 10 years old when I came across Boadicea, and she became the first woman to make me realise that the designated future of a girl born in 1950 - to be sweet, domesticated, undemanding and super feminine - was not always realistic.Boadicea battled the Romans. Nancy Astor fought in Parliament. Emmeline Pankhurst campaigned for female suffrage. Elizabeth Garrett Anderson became a pioneering physician in a man's profession. Mary Quant revolutionised the fashion industry.Britain has traditionally been defined by its conflicts, its conquests, its men and its monarchs. It's high time that it was defined by its women. In this unique history, Jenni Murray tells the stories of 21 women who refused to succumb to the established norms of society, whose lives embodied hope and change: famous queens, forgotten visionaries, great artists and trailblazing politicians - all pushed back boundaries and revolutionised our world. In Murray's hands their stories are enthralling and beguiling; they have the power to inspire us once again.… (more)
User reviews
For me, the selection reduced the rating, as it was the weighting towards women in the one area that reduced, to me, its power. Each short chapter is very good on their own, it is the way the whole works together that I felt didn't work entirely for me.
For example, the description of
I also find it very irritating that the author spends so much of each chapter on her own history and feelings instead of concentrating on the woman she is supposed to be writing about. This gets worse as the period moves into times the author experienced herself. Even without the plagerism I wouldn't give it more than two stars.