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A review by smalltownbookmom
The Women's March: A Novel of the 1913 Woman Suffrage Procession by Jennifer Chiaverini
5.0
Based on real events, this was such a great fictional account of three integral women involved in the 1913 Women's Suffrage march. I knew a fair amount about this part of history (although I'm sure many don't) - who else saw the TV movie Iron Jawed Angels with Hilary Swank as Quaker suffragist Alice Paul and her love interest Patrick Dempsey?? It's an oldie but a goodie. I didn't think the movie did the best job highlighting how women of color had an even more challenging time trying to fight for suffrage but the author does a really great job focusing on the life and work of Ida B Wells (an incredible Black woman who did SOOO much for racial and gender equality it's honestly crazy).
The third woman featured in the book was Maud Malone, an Irish American New York librarian who stood up to politicians like president-elect Woodrow Wilson, calling them out on their stance about women's rights (even going to jail for her convictions). Learning more about Maud was a real pleasure for me as a fellow librarian.
Overall this was skillfully told, narrated by the inimitable Saskia Maarleveld and showed just how complicated organizing this Women's march was, as she had to cater to different white women's suffrage groups as well as the 'colored' women's groups, who often had conflicting agendas. While this march took place in early 1913 and some states had already given some women in America the vote, it wasn't until 1920 when all women could vote. Alice Paul and Ida B Wells would go on to spend the rest of their lives fighting for equal rights for women. Highly recommend this one, especially for anyone wanting to learn more about what women went through to get us the vote we far too often take for granted today.
The third woman featured in the book was Maud Malone, an Irish American New York librarian who stood up to politicians like president-elect Woodrow Wilson, calling them out on their stance about women's rights (even going to jail for her convictions). Learning more about Maud was a real pleasure for me as a fellow librarian.
Overall this was skillfully told, narrated by the inimitable Saskia Maarleveld and showed just how complicated organizing this Women's march was, as she had to cater to different white women's suffrage groups as well as the 'colored' women's groups, who often had conflicting agendas. While this march took place in early 1913 and some states had already given some women in America the vote, it wasn't until 1920 when all women could vote. Alice Paul and Ida B Wells would go on to spend the rest of their lives fighting for equal rights for women. Highly recommend this one, especially for anyone wanting to learn more about what women went through to get us the vote we far too often take for granted today.