Hi Everyone!
I recently finished The Call by Edith Ayrton Zangwill. I first heard about this book on Lucy Powrie's Youtube Channel, lucythereader. She loved it and I thought I would give it a go. I then visited Bath last summer and went to the Persephone Bookshop, where I found it and bought it. Persephone is an independent publisher who aims to publish underrated and forgotten books, primarily written by women. You can read about my adventures in Bath and its surroundings by clicking here!
I read this in January but this review is a little late - I've just had so many posts written and ready that this one got pushed back!
This is about Ursula, a budding scientist in the early 1900s. Whereas other girls her age are either in service or married, Ursula would rather lock herself away in her laboratory. But being a woman in a man's world is tough and she is put down again and again. At first she highly disapproves of the suffragettes, however eventually her feelings start to change...Then in comes another curved ball with the arrival of war.
This was a very strange read for me. I found it long and tedious in certain points, but at other stages I loved it and didn't want to stop reading! I really enjoyed the parts about the war towards the end, and the way it crosses over between a suffragette and a war novel was something I also loved. There is a romance, which didn't always keep me engaged but which overall was satisfying and all I wanted was to see Ursula happy!
I found the character of her mother fascinating and the parts with all the suffragette raids, imprisonment, meetings...it's something I love learning about and I definitely learnt a lot by reading this. It completely transported me to a world where there were no votes for women, only groups of passionate and dedicated individuals who fought for years to get it. I don't agree with everything they did, but there's something about them that I just LOVE.
The parts which include prison and experiences of prison were so gripping and interesting, and when suffrage became war, the commentary on that was to the same effect.
I also studied the first world war last year at school and we did a few lessons on the suffragettes. Knowing this background information helped me understand what was going on at some points and visualise it better. I just love the whole suffragette universe!
All in all, this was a good read, one I think I will be returning to and I am glad I read it. It didn't live up to all of my expectations but the more I think about it the more I love it!
Thank you so much for joining me in this post and I wish you all very happy reading!
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