Women's Suffrage. A Short History of a Great Movement

London & Edinburgh: T. C. & E. C. Jack, 1912. First edition. Fine. Small octavo (measures 165 x 107mm). Original green publisher's cloth binding with spine and front board lettered in black. A clean, square, tight copy. Offsetting to front and rear endpapers, else internally a surprisingly fresh, clean-margined copy. Well represented institutionally but uncommon in trade, this title rarely appears in such pleasing condition.

"The torch which was lighted by Mary Wollstonecraft was never afterwards extinguished," Fawcett asserts at the beginning of her book, as she considers the early founders of the women's equality movement including Wollestoncraft and Mott. In the face of insult and ignorance, she explains, women have pushed forward to create a more just world through their writing (as in the case of Elizabeth Barrett Browning) or their activism (as in the case of Elizabeth Fry). But Fawcett is not only focused on the history of the movement -- though she does recount its high spots. She is even more interested in its progress, and she details international successes in the pursuit of enfranchisement for women. She believes that the current year of 1912 shows promise for even further gains, particularly in the U.S. and U.K. where suffragists increasingly embraced logical, political campaigns over violence. "He who runs [for office] must read the signs of the times. Everything points to the growing volume and force of the women's movement. Even if victory should be delayed, it cannot be delayed long." Fine.