Graphic History for Two Tuesdays

Tomorrow is election day in the United States and next Tuesday is Veteran’s Day in the US, Remembrance Day in Canada and other Commonwealth countries, and Armistice Day in France and Belgium. Interestingly, there is a new graphic novel to tie into each day.

Sally Heathcote Suffragette by Mary M. Talbot, Kate Charlesworth and Bryan Talbot, follows the fortunes of a maid-of-all-work swept up in the feminist militancy of Edwardian Britain. Sally Heathcote is a working-class maid in turn-of-the-century Manchester, in service to Emmeline Pankhurst, one of the leaders of the British suffrage movement. telling the Suffragist story in a graphic novel is a stroke of brilliance because it really shows 21st century readers how hard women had to work to get the right to vote.

In 1914, Canada went to war as a subject of Britain. In 1939, it made the choice to fight all on its own. Canada at War follows the developments and setbacks, wins and losses, of a nation learning to stand up for itself under the toughest possible conditions: in the midst of the most difficult war of the twentieth century.

With the cold weather and darker evenings, perhaps these are just the thing, along with a nice cup of tea, to enjoy on a blustery November night.

The Cure for Dreaming

My father hasn’t been to the dentist for decades. I was a teenager when I asked my mom about this. She told me that he hadn’t been to the dentist since the time he went to one who didn’t use anesthetic because he hypnotized his patients. Apparently he wasn’t able to hypnotize my father and ended up turning Dad of dentists forever.

So imagine my delight when I found out that Cat Winters’ new book,  The Cure for Dreaming, involves dentistry and hypnosis!

Last Saturday I went to her launch party at Powells’ Books in Beaverton, where she gave background to the story, read a bit, and gave us insight into her inspirations and future projects. Of course I got a copy of the book and had her sign it.

The story takes place in Portland, Oregon. It is 1900 and Olivia Mead, the protagonist, is a suffragist, much to the chagrin of her father, a dentist. He has a mesmerist hypnotize the rebellion out of her. Rather than doing so she becomes able to see people’s true natures, while also unable to speak her true thoughts out loud.

You can watch this segment of Oregon Art Beat where Cat talks about her book and the research that went into it.

Sisters Are Doin’ It for Themselves

Way back in 1985 Annie Lennox and Aretha Franklin recorded Sisters Are Doin’ It for Themselves

Twenty-nine years later, Ilene Cooper has written A Woman in the House (and Senate): How Women Came to the United States Congress, Broke Down Barriers , and Changed The Country.

Not as danceable as Annie & Aretha’s tribute,this middle school appropriate book is an encyclopedia of sorts of the history of women in politics as it pertains to the U.S. Congress. The book is divided into chronological sections, beginning with the women’s suffrage movement and ending with the results of the 2012 election.

Featured women include Hattie Caraway (the first woman elected to the Senate), Patsy Mink (the first woman of color to serve in Congress), Shirley Chisholm (the first African-American woman in Congress), and present-day powerhouses like Nancy Pelosi and Hillary Clinton. 

The text is accompanied by photos of every woman mentioned, as well as drawings that highlight certain topics. The author includes an appendix with additional info about the three branches of government, women and suffrage, politics and politicians, democrats and republicans, how a bill is passed, congressional committees, the cabinet, the women’s movement, the Equal Rights Amendment and impeachment. There is also a complete list of women in Congress, with each name listed alphabetically; endnotes; a bibliography; an acknowledgments page; and an index.

This is an excellent book for people researching famous congresswomen and/or 20th century US politics.