There’s considerable spinoff from suffrage centennials, including a rash of new creative energy related to the suffrage movement subject matter. One example is books, whether self published or from mainstream publishing houses. The years 1912 to 1914 are addressed in a self-published novel from the UK, Suffragette Autumn Women’s Spring by Ian Porter. This story begins aboard the Titanic as it’s sinking, an important scene which protagonist Ruby later realizes is the genesis of her evolving into a suffrage activist. Ruby and Nashey are left traumatised and horrified – not just by the disaster of the Titanic’s journey itself, but by the failures of the ship’s officers. Readers then travel with the main characters to New York, and on to Halifax, Nova Scotia. The novel finally unfolds in suffragette London, 1912-1914. The militant struggle for Votes for Women becomes a stage for action. Ruby becomes involved in Mrs Pankhurst’s WSPU where she’s imprisoned and involved in a hunger strike. Through the five p’s – publicity stunts, protests, political speeches, prison torture and police tactics – the novel highlights the lengths to which the women and the government pressed the issue. The main character questions the direction of the movement and out of this suffragette autumn emerges a women’s spring.
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