Whilst my colleagues who work on our religious lists here at Continuum are pre-occupied with Shrove Tuesday today, my mind has been more on International Women's Day.
As a day celebrating the economic, political and social achievements of women past, present and future, it is apt then that Louise Raw's Striking a Light is released in paperback this week.
In July 1888, fourteen hundred women and girls employed by the matchmakers Bryant & May walked out of their East End factory in protest against their poor working conditions, low pay and long hours. Louise Raw gives us a challenging new interpretation of events proving that the women themselves, not celebrity socialists like Annie Besant, began it. She provides unequivocal evidence to show that the matchwomen greatly influenced the Dock Strike of 1889, which until now was thought to be the key event of new unionism, and repositions them as the mothers of the modern labour movement. Returning to the stories of the women themselves, and by interviewing their relatives today, Raw is able to construct a new history which challenges existing accounts of the strike itself and radically alters the accepted history of the labour movement in Britain.
In the words of Terry McCarthy, former director of the National Museum of Labour History, the book is "a major contribution to Labour and Social history... an absolute must for serious historians."
An inspirational study of female empowerment, click on the preview for more information. You might also want to check out Louise's website, www.louiseraw.co.uk, for details on her upcoming talks and events.
Finally, if you're taking part in any International Women's Day events this week then the very best of luck from all of us here.
Charlotte
Marketing Executive
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