Front cover image for The Pankhursts

The Pankhursts

The suffragettes outraged Victorian society, yet behind the protests, arrests and hunger strikes, the personal lives of Emmeline Pankhurst and her daughters were just as dramatic. Martin Pugh reveals the full story of this unique family: Emmeline, the domineering mother; Christabel, the favourite daughter who became an Adventist and admirer of Mussolini; Sylvia, the 'scarlet woman'; and Adela, banished to Australia after a bitter rift. It is an astonishing account of the triumphs and tragedies of four extraordinary women. The Pankhursts is the first full account of the careers and controversies surrounding Emmeline and her three daughters in over thirty years. Martin Pugh's research makes use of neglected archive material and eye-witness accounts to examine the tense relationships, the tortured political disagreements and alliances, and the very public victories and defeats that marked the lives of this sometimes dysfunctional, but always exceptional, family. He exposes the inner workings of the suffragette movement - its militaristic style, its links with the British establishment, its success in raising funds from wealthy supporters and its capacity to withstand two and a half years of suppression by the government
Print Book, English, 2008
Vintage, London, 2008