Margaret Forster was born in Carlisle in 1938. She is the author of bestselling memoirs, Hidden Lives and Precious Lives, acclaimed biographies of Daphne du Maurier and Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and of many successful novels, such as Lady's Maid, Private Papers & most recently The Memory Box.
In her introduction Margaret Forster identifies herself as a product of everything these eight remarkable women fought to achieve. Without the likes of Caroline Norton, Elizabeth Blackwell, Florence Nightingale, Emily Davies, Josephine Butler, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Margaret Sander and Emma Goldman feminism she says would have been nothing - they 'were stepping-stones too important for any water, especially the brackish water of ignorance, to wash away.' She illustrates the evolution of feminism over 100 years through these women's struggles with the law, medicine, employment, education, sexual morality, politics and birth control. These are no dry historical accounts. They are Margaret Forster's own 'warts and all' portraits of women from very different backgrounds. The book appeals for our sympathy and understanding of the way feminism has developed and should continue to do so in the future. An inspiring book. (Kirkus UK)