The Ascent of Woman: A History of the Suffragette Movement and the Ideas Behind It [Paperback]

Melanie Phillips (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2004

The story of the fight to gain the vote for women is about much more than a picturesque skirmish around the introduction of universal suffrage. It is an explosive story of social and sexual revolutionary upheaval, and one which has not yet ended. The movement for women's suffrage in the late 19th and early 20th centuries prefigured to a startling extent the controversies which rage today around the role of women. Far from the stereotype of a uniform body of women chaining themselves to railings, the early feminist movement was riven by virulent arguments over women's role in society, the balance to be struck between self-fulfilment and their duties to family and children, and their relationship with men.

Editorial Reviews

Review

A gripping and rather magnificent new book THE TIMES A richly detailed history. DAILY TELEGRAPH This highly enjoyable history gives an excellent sense of the vivid feuds, ideological divides and disputes which fractured the enlivened the progressive Victorian feminist movement SUNDAY TELEGRAPH [A book] shot through with Phillip s' customary clariy... [she] shows beautifully that the vote was really symbolic of a far wider range of issues on which women were struggling to find a public voice EVENING STANDARD

About the Author

Melanie Phillips is a DAILY MAIL and former SUNDAY TIMES columnist and broadcaster who is a regular panellist on Radio 4's THE MORAL MAZE.

Product Details

• Paperback: 370 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group (November 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0349116601
• ISBN-13: 978-0349116600
• Product Dimensions: 1 x 5 x 7.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,496,181 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

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5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent!, January 13, 2012

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Penny Carroll - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Ascent of Woman: A History of the Suffragette Movement and the Ideas Behind It (Paperback)

As a woman who does not consider herself part the of the current Femi-Nazi movement this was a refreshing book to read. Ms. Phillips details the idea's behind the original movement and the differences within certain factions of the movement, but most importantly through the history you grasp how far gone from the rails the Femi-Nazi movement is today. It's well written and does not portray men as evil or women as victims.