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| Up then, brave women! | Up then, brave women! |
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| Michael Herbert, author of Up Then, Brave Women, believes that he has written not just a radical history of women who changed society but a manual for their successors. Here's how he puts it: | Michael Herbert, author of Up Then, Brave Women, believes that he has written not just a radical history of women who changed society but a manual for their successors. Here's how he puts it: |
| The book is a reflection of my own political beliefs. Changes in society can only be made by people themselves. These women campaigned and fought for equality and human rights and their stories can help women and men today to do the same - to make change happen. | The book is a reflection of my own political beliefs. Changes in society can only be made by people themselves. These women campaigned and fought for equality and human rights and their stories can help women and men today to do the same - to make change happen. |
| Up Then, Brave Women is a retelling of the stories of radical women in Manchester, going back over two hundred years. They include feminists, socialists and trade unionists who shook the establishment in their campaigns for civil rights. It is not just the story of 50 years of high-profile struggling for the vote, but has many lesser known accounts of women at Peterloo and in the Chartist movement. | Up Then, Brave Women is a retelling of the stories of radical women in Manchester, going back over two hundred years. They include feminists, socialists and trade unionists who shook the establishment in their campaigns for civil rights. It is not just the story of 50 years of high-profile struggling for the vote, but has many lesser known accounts of women at Peterloo and in the Chartist movement. |
| Herbert is not a northerner by birth, but has sought inspiration from local historians and the husband-and-wife founders of the Working Class Movement Library , Ruth and Eddie Frow. He says: | Herbert is not a northerner by birth, but has sought inspiration from local historians and the husband-and-wife founders of the Working Class Movement Library , Ruth and Eddie Frow. He says: |
| I came to Manchester in the 1970s to go to university and never quite left. I was active in the politics of my era, including Rock against Racism and the Anti-Nazi League. Nowadays I am a trustee of the Library - Ruth and Eddie were inspirational and I am literally following in their footsteps, as I do radical history walks in Manchester, just as they did, and have written several books on working class history, like them again. | I came to Manchester in the 1970s to go to university and never quite left. I was active in the politics of my era, including Rock against Racism and the Anti-Nazi League. Nowadays I am a trustee of the Library - Ruth and Eddie were inspirational and I am literally following in their footsteps, as I do radical history walks in Manchester, just as they did, and have written several books on working class history, like them again. |
| His other books include a biography of Manchester black boxer and Communist Len Johnson, Never Counted Out and a history of the Irish in Manchester, The Wearing of the Green. He runs Red Flag Walks, a radical history walking business. He does not seem himself as a guide but takes a political, activism-encouraging line: | His other books include a biography of Manchester black boxer and Communist Len Johnson, Never Counted Out and a history of the Irish in Manchester, The Wearing of the Green. He runs Red Flag Walks, a radical history walking business. He does not seem himself as a guide but takes a political, activism-encouraging line: |
| My walks are steered from a socialist history perspective. I seek to educate people, not in an academic way but to encourage them to read history and also to get involved in campaigns generally. You could say it's a political education that I am offering the people who come on my walks. | My walks are steered from a socialist history perspective. I seek to educate people, not in an academic way but to encourage them to read history and also to get involved in campaigns generally. You could say it's a political education that I am offering the people who come on my walks. |
| Herbert has been doing history walks for many years and his inspiration for the book came from the people who attended his walks. | Herbert has been doing history walks for many years and his inspiration for the book came from the people who attended his walks. |
| People were always asking me what books they ought to read about radical history - particularly the history of working class women who were active in all sorts of campaigns from Peterloo to the Suffragettes and beyond. Apart from the definitive One Hand Tied Behind Us by Jill Liddington and Jill Norris there is little else that one can recommend. That is why I decided to write this book. | People were always asking me what books they ought to read about radical history - particularly the history of working class women who were active in all sorts of campaigns from Peterloo to the Suffragettes and beyond. Apart from the definitive One Hand Tied Behind Us by Jill Liddington and Jill Norris there is little else that one can recommend. That is why I decided to write this book. |
| Up then, Brave Women covers the period 1819 -1918 in nine chapters using a lot of new sources. Herbert says: | Up then, Brave Women covers the period 1819 -1918 in nine chapters using a lot of new sources. Herbert says: |
| I concentrated on the larger, more significant movements and wanted to bring these campaigns to life by using lots of quotations from the women themselves. I also wanted to get away from too much focus on the Pankhursts. | I concentrated on the larger, more significant movements and wanted to bring these campaigns to life by using lots of quotations from the women themselves. I also wanted to get away from too much focus on the Pankhursts. |
| There were a vast amount of other women involved in the campaign for the vote and in particular the campaign by working class women has often been ignored. I wanted to rectify this. | There were a vast amount of other women involved in the campaign for the vote and in particular the campaign by working class women has often been ignored. I wanted to rectify this. |
| The book has been published by the North West Labour History Society, with the help of trade union sponsorship. Herbert sees this as an important part of the process: | The book has been published by the North West Labour History Society, with the help of trade union sponsorship. Herbert sees this as an important part of the process: |
| There is a radical tradition of societies publishing their own pamphlets and books which goes back to the unstamped press of the early 19th century. The Frows continued this and I wanted to carry on this tradition. Although I have used all modern techniques in its design and its illustrations. | There is a radical tradition of societies publishing their own pamphlets and books which goes back to the unstamped press of the early 19th century. The Frows continued this and I wanted to carry on this tradition. Although I have used all modern techniques in its design and its illustrations. |
He hopes that the book will convey to people a sense of the main personalities and movements which have fashioned the history of Manchester, and then stir them to join the procession: | He hopes that the book will convey to people a sense of the main personalities and movements which have fashioned the history of Manchester, and then stir them to join the procession: |
| I hope people will enjoy reading it, will learn from its history and reflect on it in their own lives. | I hope people will enjoy reading it, will learn from its history and reflect on it in their own lives. |
Up then, Brave Women will be launched during the Manchester Weekender on Saturday 13 October at 6pm at the Black Lion Pub in Salford. It will be in local bookshops or available from the North West Labour History Society. | Up then, Brave Women will be launched during the Manchester Weekender on Saturday 13 October at 6pm at the Black Lion Pub in Salford. It will be in local bookshops or available from the North West Labour History Society. |
| Bernadette Hyland is a freelance writer and blogger. She is active in her trade union, Unite and volunteers at the Working Class Movement Library in Salford. | Bernadette Hyland is a freelance writer and blogger. She is active in her trade union, Unite and volunteers at the Working Class Movement Library in Salford. |
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