My Faith in Woman Suffrage.

MASEFIELD, John.

$300.00

Item Number: 135641

First edition of the English Poet Laureate’s speech delivered in the Queens Hall, February 14th, 1910. Octavo, original wrappers. In near fine condition.

In 1872, the fight for women’s suffrage became a national movement in England with the formation of the National Society for Women’s Suffrage and later the more influential National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies (NUWSS). In addition to England, women’s suffrage movements in Wales, Scotland and other parts of the United Kingdom gained momentum. By 1906, the movements had begun to shift popular sentiments and a militant campaign began with the formation of the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU). Known as the suffragettes, its membership and policies were tightly controlled by Emmeline Pankhurst and her daughters Christabel and Sylvia (although Sylvia was eventually expelled). The WSPU membership became known for civil disobedience and direct action. It heckled politicians, held demonstrations and marches, broke the law to force arrests, broke windows in prominent buildings, set fire to post boxes, committed night-time arson of unoccupied houses and churches, and—when imprisoned—went on hunger strike and endured force-feeding.