What a great way to welcome autumn and October with our monthly Book Picnic. Here are the books recommended on Wednesday 3rd October. It was funny to notice that most of the covers of the books brought were related to birds and feathers.
Pauline recommends:
Mrs Pankhurst’s Purple Feather by Tessa Boase
A fascinating and quirky read. The story of two women, one famous and one who has been forgotten. In the late 19th century, feathers and bird parts were de rigueur on hats. Etta Lemon led the fight against a fashion which meant millions of birds were slaughtered and also dreadful working conditions for the low-paid women who processed them. She was head of what became to RSPB until she was ousted by a group of men decades later. She was also anti-women suffrage. Mrs Pankhurst led the Suffragettes but always insisted her members were smartly dresses and hatted. And the purple feather? Mrs Pankhurst wore a purple feather in her hat during the protest at Westminster in 1909.
Elaine recommends:
Love and treasure by Aylet Waldman
A spellbinding new novel of contraband masterpieces, tragic love, and the unexpected legacies of forgotten crimes, Ayelet Waldman’s Love and Treasure weaves a tale around the fascinating, true history of the Hungarian Gold Train in the Second World War.
Wendy recommends:
She is fierce by Ana Sampson
A brilliant book of bold, brave and beautiful poems by women – from suffragettes to school girls, from spoken word superstars to civil rights activists. Covering themes including body image, protest, nature and friendship, it’s a really fantastic addition to our poetry section in the library!
Emily recommends:
Children of blood and bone by Tomi Adeyemi
Zélie comes from Orïsha, where magic exists. One night, magic disappeared and her mother get murdered. From that night, Zélie is going to fight for her people and bring magic back. She will have to confront the crown-prince, who wants to eradicate magic, but also herself, her powers and her vengeful feelings.
At the time this post has been wrote, the movie is being produced!
Jay recommends:
Swansong by Kerry Andrew
What starts out as a tale of a young woman, Polly Vaughan, fleeing from what could be a deadly mistake in London to the harsh landscape of Lochaber, Fort William and environs drifts into what might be Highland noir but ultimately turns out to be something altogether mu
ch more mythic and magical.
You can find the full review written by Jay here: https://womenslibrary.org.uk/2018/09/29/first-hurrah-fares-well-book-review/
Celestine recommends:
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
When Sunja falls pregnant by a married yakuza, the family face ruin. But then Isak, a Christian minister, offers her a chance of salvation: a new life in Japan as his wife. Following a man she barely knows to a hostile country in which she has no friends, no home, and whose language she cannot speak, Sunja’s salvation is just the beginning of her story.
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