A history of, in the words of the book’s subtitle, “radical, reformist and revolutionary women” between the outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789 and the passing of the Great Reform Act in 1832, it may not seem like Uncontrollable Women covers a hugely lengthy epoch. But one has to marvel at the sheer volume of events packed into this period – especially when women’s role during that time has been largely overlooked, if not erased – which Nan Sloane, in turn, has packed into a very readable book.
As historical analysis from different perspectives is given increasing importance, Uncontrollable Women champions working-class women whose writing and activism paved the way for suffragettes, and subsequent female emancipation. Importantly, it also contextualises each woman, refusing to use blanket terms like “feminist” to describe someone as politically nuanced (and motivated) as Mary Wollstonecraft, for instance.
While this is not necessarily the type of non-fiction that tells a story so much as a historical almanac with a sense of plot, it is also not to be overlooked by those overwhelmed by its density. We will look back on Uncontrollable Women to inform historical teaching hereafter, and it will be welcomed into political literature as a map of the path taken to get to where Britain is today.
Uncontrollable Women: Radicals, Reformers & Revolutionaries, Nan Sloane (Bloomsbury)
Price: £14.40. Info: here
words MEGAN THOMAS