A Question of Courage

Emily, a 17-year-old seamstress, has a chance encounter with Women’s Suffrage through well-to-do Louise, and becomes deeply involved in the movement, even going to prison for the cause. Her emotions as well as the strength of her conviction are challenged as she learns to mix in new circles and face difficult decisions about political action. While the scene is somewhat idealised, the detail of life in 1912 for both Emily’s working-class family and Louise’s factory-owning one, is convincingly and often subtly drawn.

First published in 1975, and reminiscent of K M Peyton’s ‘Flambards’ series, this is a well-written and sensitive portrait of a girl growing to womanhood at a time of change, offering a picture of political involvement which may be enlightening to today’s rather less-than-active readers.