Description

‘Makes the case for Annie Besant as a truly eminent Victorian, as brilliant and fearless as she was beautiful’ The Times
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London, 1877. A petite young woman stands before an all-male jury, about to risk everything. She takes a breath, and opens her defence.

Annie Besant and her confidant Charles Bradlaugh are on trial for the crime of publishing a birth control pamphlet. Remarkably, Annie is defending herself against obscenity charges 45 years before women can practice law in England. At a time when women were expected to be obedient, Annie’s fearless voice was a sensation and spotlighted issues of sex, censorship and morality.

A Dirty, Filthy Book tells the gripping story of a little-known pioneer who refused to accept the role that the establishment assigned her, and chose instead to resist.

Publisher Review

Makes the case for Annie Besant as a truly eminent Victorian, as brilliant and fearless as she was beautiful . . . [A] witty and entertaining account * The Times, Book of the Week * Drawn from newspaper accounts, court records, and Besant’s own memoir, Meyer’s depiction of Besant fighting for reproductive rights, almost 150 years ago, is truly marvellous . . . Meyer succeeds admirably in his efforts to bring to light the story of a truly remarkable and courageous woman — Kate Lister * Daily Telegraph * Michael Meyer deserves hearty congratulations for returning a remarkable woman to centre stage, where she belongs — Jane Robinson * Times Literary Supplement * Michael Meyer has mined the rich seams of history and woven together a fascinating and gripping narrative. Beautifully told, it has echoes for today. I don’t know how he does it — Adam Hochschild, author of KING LEOPOLD’S GHOST Annie Besant was a freethinker and a half – an indomitable woman who challenged many of the discriminatory views of her day and put all her energies into social change. A great read — Prof. Helen Pankhurst CBE, Women’s Rights Campaigner Hugely entertaining, told with verve and humour, with a riveting court trial at its heart. A terrific study of the Victorian controversy and criminalisation of contraception and the dire consequences for women of confusing medicine with morals. At last, Annie Besant has found a champion equal to the task of doing justice to her crusading life and the significance of her achievements. Victorian patriarchy denied Besant her rightful place in political history: Michael Meyer has reinstated her, in all her glorious complexity, as the pioneering feminist changemaker in Britain’s history of morals, censorship and sex — Rachel Holmes, author of SYLVIA PANKHURST and ELEANOR MARX At a time when reproductive rights are being rolled back globally, as well as worryingly close to home, [Besant’s] story needs retelling until its message is set in stone * Guardian * Meyer interweaves Besant’s multifaceted life into an engaging prose, full of intriguing details * BBC History Magazine * Splendidly researched . . . A superbly written model for those who aspire to write significant but accessible history . . . The book fizzes along — Bob Forder * The Freethinker *