A delightful surprise of a fascinating tale

How the story of suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst and ornithologist Etta Lemon's intertwining and yet contradictory lives, has remained a mystery until now, is unfathomable. Their importance to the existence of modern day women (and men) cannot be overstated and yet it took more than a century later before author Tessa Boase revealed their riveting story.

Boase's research is exhaustive and it is the tiniest details that transports us the listener (or reader) so easily into the parlours of wealthy, glamorous and fashionable women one moment and next into the squalor of London's East End and the factories where young women suffered appalling lung disease brought on by the constant exposure to the chemicals used to produce the plumage to decorate the former's ornate headwear.

Transforming a great story into an enjoyable audiobook is also an art and fortunately for us Tessa Boase reads her own piece. She has such an easy voice to listen to and as the author she is also a master at audible structure - just the right stresses, pauses and other oratory cues.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book from Audible and found myself sitting in my car long after I'd arrived at my destination, just so that I could hear a bit more.

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