Brigitte Dale's compelling debut novel, The Good Daughters, immerses readers in the activism, challenges, and intertwined relationships of several young suffragettes in early 20th-century London. As the women face jeers, ostracism, imprisonment, and other hardships, they must band together to continue the struggle for suffrage--and consider whether the vote is worth their sacrifices.
Charlotte, a middle-class bookworm from Manchester, is thrilled to be attending Girton College in Cambridge. But she finds herself out of place among the other students, who are mostly posh young women biding their time before marriage. One of them, Beatrice, introduces Charlotte to the suffrage movement but has her own reasons for hesitating to commit fully. Both women eventually leave Cambridge for London, where they meet Emily, daughter of the warden of Holloway Prison. Emily, grieving her mother's death and wrestling with her plans for the future, becomes an insider ally to the suffragettes--and her help becomes increasingly vital as more suffragettes are imprisoned. Sadie, an American, injects fresh energy into the movement, but her presence also brings further complications.
Dale explores the external pressures and internal tensions facing the suffragettes, including the movement's bias toward women of privilege (the novel contains a mother-daughter pair inspired by Emmeline and Christabel Pankhurst). The women's dedication to their cause is tested when prison officials begin force-feeding participants in a hunger strike, and Emily worries about the repercussions if her father discovers her involvement. With excerpts from historical suffragette speeches and songs, Dale's narrative shows the brilliance and grit of women whose dedication changed the world. --Katie Noah Gibson, blogger at Cakes, Tea and Dreams