JOANNA WILLIAMS’ ‘THE GREAT MISS LYDIA BECKER: SUFFRAGIST, SCIENTIST AND TRAILBLAZER’

Thank you to Catherine Izdebski, in Year 12, who has written a blog about Joanna Williams’ ‘The Great Miss Lydia Becker: Suffragist, Scientist and Trailblazer’.  Hosted by the Walking and Book Festival, Joanna Williams will be talking about her book at Richmond Town Hall on 20^th September at 7:30pm.

Tickets are only £10 and can be booked here.

Refreshments and a book stall will be available and the venue has disabled access.  Please enjoy Catherine’s blog below.

Joanna Williams’ ‘The Great Miss Lydia Becker: Suffragist, Scientist and Trailblazer’

Everyone knows the story of Emmeline Pankhurst. Much fewer know the story of her older colleague and predecessor: the great Lydia Becker. A pioneer of women’s rights, she used her political know-how and dedication to suffragism to take advantage of a legal loophole and allow almost 1000 women to vote in the election of 1868. She woke England up to the reality of women’s suffrage: the position of wives, abuse of women, their rights in work, and girl’s education. A fierce political lobbyist, she influenced MPs and addressed countless crowds to raise awareness and change public perception of these issues. The unofficial but acknowledged leader of the suffragette movement, her influence on the island of Manx set them ahead of mainland England by 40 years regarding women’s rights.

This September at the Richmond Walking and Book Festival, biographer Joanna Williams will be presenting “The Great Miss Lydia Becker: Suffragist, Scientist and Trailblazer” at Richmond Town Hall and explaining why Lydia Becker ought to be reinstated into the pantheon of pioneers of women’s rights.