Author(s): Michael Meyer

Feminism and Gender

An empowering and gripping story of a pioneer of women's rights written by a critically-acclaimed writer and historian, for fans of Hallie Rubenhold, Hermione Lee and prize-winning Victorian histories. London, 1877. A petite young woman stands before an all-male jury, about to risk everything. She takes a breath, and opens her defence. Annie Besant and her confidant Charles Bradlaugh are on trial for the sordid crime of publishing and selling a birth control pamphlet. Remarkably - forty-five years before the first woman will be admitted to the English bar - Annie is defending herself. Before Britain's highest judge she declares a woman's right to choose when, and if, to have children. At a time when women were legally and socially subservient to men, Annie's defiant voice was a sensation. The riveting trial scandalised newspapers, captivated the British public and sparked a debate over morals, censorship and sex. Drawing on unpublished archives, private papers and courtroom transcripts - and featuring an incredible cast including Queen Victoria, George Bernard Shaw and London itself - A Dirty, Filthy Book tells the gripping story of a forgotten pioneer who refused to accept the role the Establishment assigned to her. Instead, she chose to resist.