Readable and immersive local history. Provides a great way of learning about the national Votes for Women campaign. Ties in with the 100th anniversary of women first getting the vote in the UK. Draws on in-depth research to provide a historically accurate account.
From Matilda Biggs, who signed the first national petition in 1866, to Olive Walton, who went on hunger strike and was force fed in 1912, Tunbridge Wells was home to a series of ordinary yet extraordinary Votes for Women campaigners.
The 'disgusted ladies' were very different from the angry newspaper correspondent who would occupy the columns of local newspapers in later decades. They were also angry, but their anger had a specific focus - the government's continual refusal to give them the vote.
Their activities included collecting petition signatures, marching, selling suffrage newspapers, fundraising, running shops, evading the census and withholding taxes. And, with London only a short train journey away, they were present at many of the major protests and processions which took place there.
Drawing on a wide range of sources, including diaries, personal papers and contemporary newspapers, Disgusted Ladies brings the stories of these amazing women to life.