Prudent Revolutionaries: Portraits of British Feminists between the Wars

by Brian Harrison

Overview

This is the first major study of the diverse personalities, achievements, and tactics of British feminist leaders of the 1920s and 1930s. Presenting sketches of sixteen prominent but very different feminists, the author examines the breadth and scale of their activities, explains the organizational context and ancestry of feminism between the wars, and underlines the achievements of the feminist movement in advancing women's political, occupational, and family roles at home and abroad. Highlighting the lives of the first generation of voting women in Britain, Prudent Revolutionaries provides an insightful composite portrait of the reforming personality, and of the tactical and strategic dilemmas the reformers faced when trying to operate democratic institutions within a hostile climate.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780198201199
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	12/10/1987
Pages:	370
Product dimensions:	5.75(w) x 8.75(h) x 0.94(d)

About the Author

Corpus Christi College, Oxford

Editorial Reviews

"The best single account of interwar feminism....A book of major importance which adds considerably to our understanding of feminism and of the political history of interwar Britain."—Albion

"Thoughtful, detailed, and carefully argued....This important book will be essential to all subsequent studies of twentieth-century British feminism."—Oral History Review

"Will fascinate anyone with a modicum of interest in human psychology, parliamentary and extraparliamentary political tactics, British history, or feminism....This is a remarkably successful, collective portrait of British feminist political activists and one that illuminates several areas of social and political history on the way."—Perspective

"The first major work on British interwar feminism to appear in many years....The era is...a significant one, and Harrison makes a substantial contribution to its understanding."—CHOICE

From the Publisher