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  • Difficult Women

  • A History of Feminism in 11 Fights
  • By: Helen Lewis
  • Narrated by: Helen Lewis
  • Length: 9 hrs and 41 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (30 ratings)

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Difficult Women

By: Helen Lewis
Narrated by: Helen Lewis
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Publisher's Summary

Well-behaved women don’t make history: difficult women do.

Helen Lewis argues that feminism’s success is down to complicated, contradictory, imperfect women who fought each other as well as fighting for equal rights. Too many of these pioneers have been whitewashed or forgotten in our modern search for feel-good, inspirational heroines. It’s time to reclaim the history of feminism as a history of difficult women. 

In this audiobook, you’ll meet the working-class suffragettes who advocated bombings and arson; the princess who discovered why so many women were having bad sex; the pioneer of the refuge movement who became a men’s rights activist; the ‘striker in a sari’ who terrified Margaret Thatcher; the wronged Victorian wife who definitely wasn’t sleeping with the prime minister; and the lesbian politician who outraged the country. Taking the story up to the present with the 21st-century campaign for abortion services, Helen Lewis reveals the unvarnished - and unfinished - history of women’s rights.

Drawing on archival research and interviews, Difficult Women is a funny, fearless and sometimes shocking narrative history which shows why the feminist movement has succeeded - and what it should do next. The battle is difficult, and we must be difficult, too.

©2020 Helen Lewis (P)2020 Penguin Audio
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History

What listeners say about Difficult Women

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Brilliant

Articulate, well-thought out, and intensely well-argued, this is an important, funny and rage-inducing history of (largely) the UK in which a woman’s fight for equality takes centre stage. So much insight. The epilogue, as a stand-alone piece, was perfection.

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People Have Flaws But They Still Have Value

In this time of purity politics, this book is a timely reminder that most people who carry out worthwhile political action are not saints but rather flesh and blood human beings possessed of good and bad characteristics. Nevertheless we can still value people’s legacy and worthwhile impact on our lives today. Helen Lewis’ well written book takes a look at the stories of women who have struggled for the rights and interests of women and girls. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in social activism.

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Loved it

Witty, informative and brilliant. I wish I'd found this book sooner, and I'll certainly be recommending it to family and friends.

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So informative

Well researched interesting book on the women’s movement and individuals who influenced it. Many of which would have been forgotten. A balanced interpretation.

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Great Reminder

A great reminder of how far we have come and how far we have to go.

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Thought I wasn't a feminist. I was wrong.

So worthwhile. Should be mandatory reading for girls approaching adulthood. I learned so much.

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Excellent

The narrator, the author herself, is excellent.

In this time of #BlackLivesMatter, it struck me that there are many parallels between the struggle for racial equality and the struggle for gender equality.

Highly informative, expertly written.

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Enlightening...

A great introduction to feminism in 2020 and some of the people who contributed to the journey. Learnt a lot about my ignorance and was happily educated. Mainly from a UK perspective.

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