This is a suffragette
novel aimed at children – I’m guessing around the 10-12 years age range.
Geoffrey Trease’s
novel Bring Out The Banners was originally published in 1994, and has recently
been resurrected by Bloomsbury imprint Flash Backs. While it’s not breaking any
new ground in the suffragette-novel-for-kids territory (working class girl
befriends privileged aristocrat girl, they unfurl Votes For Women banners at a
theatre, they improbably meet Mrs Pankhurst, they go on a number of marches and
end up arrested where they are force fed) this is one of the better books I’ve
read that covers this territory.
Trease brings in lots
of accurate historical information to illustrate the plot, he peppers his cast
with a few real characters (Mrs Pankhurst, Annie Kenney, Grace Roe), and
explains the facts in a very easy-to-understand (but not patronising) way.
If you’re looking for
a good book to introduce your kids to the suffrage movement, then Bring Out The
Banners is a good place to turn. It
is well written, has an engaging plot and is historically accurate.
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