The Quick and the Read

I read a lot of non-fiction which tends to fall into several sub-categories – Victorians, social history, historical biography, women’s history, feminism.

For today’s post, I wanted to talk about some of the best in non-fiction books specifically about women and their lives – from historical perspectives to the modern day. These are the my top 5 picks from an awful lot of books so I hope you find something that catches your eye!

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‘How Was It For You?’ by Virginia Nicholson

I love social history and anything with a feminist perspective, but I’ll admit that I knew very little about the 1960s before reading this book.

I think I’d bought into the vague modern notion of the ‘Swinging Sixties’, a time when societal expectations changed after the restrictive 1950s, a time of permissiveness and free love and hippies and Biba. The sixties as revolutionary but in a good way.

Nicholson goes some way to explode this myth about the decade often recalled with a sense of nostalgia by those who experienced it (my dad being a prime example!) She reveals the truth behind the ‘free love’ headline: this was not a great time for women. From illegal abortions to sexism at all levels of society, the 1960s were not always kind to the sisterhood. While seeming to be an age of opportunity and freedom (the pill, the opening of the job market to women, recreational drugs, the possibility of finding your ‘tribe’ of mods/rockers/hippies, and an exciting shift in popular music), the reality was that gender equality was not part of the deal.

Despite this overall message, the book is not pessimistic or depressing. Nicholson cleverly charts the decade chronologically, interspersing an account of the historical events with interviews with a range of women who lived through the 1960s. These range from the mother of a thalidomide baby to a campaigning feminist to a women who experienced teen pregnancy to Patricia Quinn (Magenta in ‘The Rocky Horror Show’ and a personal heroine of mine!) These women show that the sixties were an era of contradictions and complexities, of great change, of fun but also huge challenges.

The scope of the book is mind-boggling. It manages to cover personal stories from the interviewees and also the big news events of the day. In a fast paced narrative, we are whisked through huge cultural revolutions and major news stories: Beatlemania, Profumo, Playboy bunny girls, LSD, groupies, Mary Whitehouse, racism, Lady Chatterley, the moon landings, Carnaby Street, feminism…the list goes on.

There is so much packed into the book, yet the flow of the text never seems forced or unnatural; it is an absolutely engrossing read.

I recommend this to anyone interested in social history, feminism or women’s lives. Whether you remember the sixties or not, there is so much to learn from this engaging and thought provoking book.

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‘Difficult Women’ by Helen Lewis

This is a book that I’ve talked about before on this blog, but it bears repeating. I have told everyone who will listen about this one!

I thought I was pretty good on my history of women’s rights and feminism, but found plenty in this eye-opening, thought-provoking and engaging book that was new to me. In the book, Lewis charts key moments in women’s history through 11 ‘fights’ – key moments in history when the titular ‘Difficult Women’ have stood up and made change happen in society.

These changes range from divorce laws protecting women’s rights to have access to their children and property, the availability of safe and legal abortions, gaining votes for women after World War 1, establishing refuges for victims of domestic violence, achieving equal access to education and the changing roles of the female workforce. Each of these struggles is a separate chapter, with Lewis introducing us to some of the ‘difficult women’ who led the various movements.

What I loved about this book was that the stories told weren’t the usual ones. For every Pankhurst in the chapter on votes for women, there were a whole host of lesser known but still fascinating women who played important roles in achieving the women’s vote in 1918. I felt that I’d learnt about a whole new cast of feminists and so many different perspectives on feminist ideology.

Lewis doesn’t try to convince us that these women were perfect – she tackles head on some of the contradictions of feminism and the internal disagreements, for example not shying away from Marie Stopes interest in eugenics or the suffragettes willingness to do violent and terrible things to achieve their aims.

I’d wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in women’s history or changing place in society. The book isn’t – and doesn’t claim to be – an exhaustive history of feminism, but it is lively and entertaining, well-researched and engrossing. The topics covered are fascinating and Lewis is a witty, perceptive and clear-sighted guide through some tricky subjects.

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‘The Trouble with Women’ by Jacky Fleming

This is a book that seems to be a light read – it’s mainly illustrations – but the weight of the messages is immense!

I have a background in studying feminist literature and admit I was intrigued when I saw this book with it’s woman in a bubble (actually the Domestic Sphere – capitalisation essential – as we soon find out) on the cover and ironic title.

It’s an absolute gem! Lovely illustrations accompany an acerbic narrative of female history; traditional ideas about women aren’t criticised directly, but more shown to be ludicrous through the wording and illustrations (I especially loved the idea that women couldn’t stand up without corsets, alongside illustrated lolling women!) Men are Geniuses (with a capital letter, obviously), while women aren’t suited to anything that might damage their marriage prospects (including, but not limited to, art, science, writing, riding bicycles).

This book is an obvious choice for anyone interested in women’s history and feminism., and is one I’ll be sharing with my daughter when she is old enough.

However, it has much wider appeal than us card-carrying feminists! Indeed, this book should also be read by anyone who thinks that the fight for equality is over; there’s plenty of food for thought here about the messages we are still given about women’s role in history.

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‘Moranifesto’ by Caitlin Moran

Regular visitors to the blog may have already spotted my love for Caitlin Moran who – I think – has one of the most original, funny and relatable voices in modern journalism.

She writes regularly for ‘The Times’ and ‘The Sunday Times’ but also has a number of books (both fiction and non-fiction) under her belt. Her new book, ‘More Than A Woman’ has just been released, but I’d like to point you towards ‘Moranifesto’ as being the book that perfectly encapsulates her quirky and humorous take on life.

Although I really don’t agree with her on some things (for example, her Beatles obsession), on the important things we are aligned. She writes engagingly and persuasively, whether it is about feminism, the Paralympics, the need for libraries or the wonderousness of Benedict Cumberbatch!

Although her writing is fundamentally feminist, she covers a massive amount of ground on some extremely wide-ranging topics and is always readable. She is also notoriously ‘over-sharey’ so there’s some hilarious and eye-opening content.

The other thing that’s great about this book is that Moran is a thinker. Although a lot of her musings may seem amusing or dealing with trivialities, she absolutely nails society’s problems (often to do with inequality and injustices) and offers a hopeful way forward – her ‘Moranifesto’.

I wish they’d put her in charge now!

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‘Unmentionable: The Victorian Lady’s Guide to Sex, Marriage and Manners‘ by Therese ONeill

Those who know me know that I love funny books and anything about Victorians. This is both and yet gives an engaging social history on how women lived in the Victorian era.

I do tend towards a romantic view of the Victorian era whilst also knowing that this is ridiculous – the statistics on child mortality, life expectancy and poverty should dispel that myth. However, I was keen to know about the reality of being a Victorian woman which is why I picked up this book.

The key thing to note is that this is about being a Victorian lady – a very small percentage of the population, as most women did not have the disposable income or time to meet the exacting standards of the etiquette guides (that ONeill uses as the basis for her fascinating book).

The book includes some really interesting social history on women’s clothing, bathing options, treatments for ‘hysteria’ (a condition only experienced by white, upper class women!) and contraception, among other things.

It is also really very funny and so makes my list easily!

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Here are some others from my (to be honest – terrifyingly huge) TBR…

‘The Five’ by Hallie Rubenhold

‘Rise Up, Women!’ by Diane Atkinson

‘Bloody Brilliant Women’ by Cathy Newman

‘She-Merchants, Buccaneers and Gentlewomen: British Women in India 1600-1900’ by Katie Hickman

‘Square Haunting: Five Women, Freedom and London Between the Wars’ by Francesca Wade

‘Outsiders: Five Women Writers Who Changed the World’ by Lyndall Gordon

‘Maiden Voyages’ by Sian Evans

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Header photo with thanks to Gabrielle Rocha Rios for sharing their work on Unsplash.