Etta Lemon :The Woman Who Saved the Birds
Etta Lemon :The Woman Who Saved the Birds
paperback
Published:
1 June, 2021
Popular Books by Tessa Boase
View All Books by Tessa Boase
Description
A heroine for our times, Etta Lemon campaigned for fifty years against the worldwide slaughter of birds for extravagantly feathered hats. Her legacy is the RSPB, grown from an all-female pressure group of 1889 with the splendidly simple pledge: Wear No Feathers.
Etta’s long battle against ‘murderous millinery’ triumphed with the Plumage Act of 1921 – but her legacy has been eclipsed by the more glamorous campaign for the vote, led by the elegantly plumed Emmeline Pankhurst.
This gripping narrative explores two formidable heroines and their rival, overlapping campaigns. Moving from the feather workers’ slums to high society, from the first female political rally to the rise of the eco-feminist, it restores Etta Lemon to her rightful place in history – the extraordinary woman who saved the birds.
ETTA LEMON was originally published in hardback in 2018 under the title of MRS PANKHURST'S PURPLE FEATHER.
'A great story of pioneering conservation.'
KATE HUMBLE
‘Quite brilliant. Meticulous and perceptive. A triumph of a book.’
CHARLIE ELDER
‘Shocking and entertaining. The surprising story of the campaigning women who changed Britain.”
VIRGINIA NICHOLSON
‘A fascinating and moving story, vividly told.’
JOHN CAREY
‘A fascinating clash of two causes: rights for women and rights for birds to fly free not adorn suffragettes’ hats. An illuminating story, provocative, well-researched and brilliantly told.’
DIANA SOUHAMI
More Details
| Type | Book |
|---|---|
| ISBN13 | 9780711263383 |
| ISBN10 | 0711263388 |
| Number Of Pages | 320 |
| Item Weight | 1000 g |
| Publisher / Reseller | Quarto Publishing PLC |
| Format | paperback |
Media Reviews
'Boase has done a superb job of linking her personalities, and painting vivid pictures of their life struggles and fighting techniques. This book is an unputdownable account of a forgotten campaign, and of a group of women who have been hidden from history for too long.'
* Women's History Review *
'A fascinating book...packed with interesting facts. A great read for all people' * Birdwatching Magazine *
Author's Bio
Tessa Boase has written three books of social history: The Housekeeper’s Tale (2014); Etta Lemon (first published as Mrs Pankhurst’s Purple Feather in 2018), both by Aurum, and London’s Lost Department Stores (2022). She is a journalist, lecturer and broadcaster, appearing on ‘Secrets of the National Trust’ with Alan Titchmarsh, ‘Tony Robinson’s History of Britain’, and ‘Jay Blades’ Country House Through Time’.
She lives with her family on the Sussex coast. www.tessaboase.com