Uncontrollable Women - Radicals, Reformers and Revolutionaries Book

Uncontrollable Women is a history of radical, reformist and revolutionary women between the outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789 and the passing of the Great Reform Act in 1832.

Very few of them are well-known today; some were unknown even in their own day. All of them contributed something to the world we now inhabit.

At a time when women were supposed to leave politics to men they spoke, wrote, marched, organised, asked questions, challenged power structures, sometimes went to prison and even died. History has not usually been kind to them, and they have frequently been pushed into asides or footnotes, dismissed as secondary, or spoken over, for, or through by men and sometimes other women.

In this book, they take centre stage in both their own stories and those of others, and in doing so bring different voices to the more familiar accounts of the period. These women and many others played a part in developing political ideas and freedoms as we know them today, and some fought battles which still remain to be won or raised questions that are still unresolved. These are their stories.

"This book brings to life the legacy left by the radical women missing from history and restores them to their rightful place... Nan has written a powerful, illuminating book that will educate and inspire. But most importantly, she has introduced us to these hidden feminist figures from 200 years ago. We stand on their shoulders and it is only right that we honour them."
Ayesha Hazarika, broadcaster and journalist, from the foreword

"Uncontrollable Women gives long overdue attention to an often overlooked period in women’s history beyond the immediacy of Mary Wollstonecraft, the author rights that wrong. The removal of the requirement for women to be considered feminist in the modern sense also allows access to women whose achievements are often overlooked."
Jacqui Turner, Associate Professor of Modern British History, University of Reading, UK