It’s dark, it’s depressing, it’s sometimes funny. It’s a reminder to keep persevering and fighting. These women before us were made of strong stuff, resilient, daring and brave they fought for women in Bristol today so we could go to work, so we could vote, so we could walk through the streets unaccompanied by a man. And there is a rebellious tone in Hollis’s voice, nearing the end of the book there’s hope, a small spark and it picks up a little bit of pace. We’re reminded of the performers hailing from Bristol and their international fame and success. In fact, with such comparisons to the beginning of the book you start to feel a sense of accomplishment and pride. It’s made me look at the place I live in a completely different light, Harbourside, where I enjoy socialising with friends has now changed, where I feel I understand another layer to it. I understand what it took for me to sit outside in my t-shirt and shorts and order a glass of wine on a summer’s evening... Read more
Bristol Women's Voice

As featured in
The Bookseller 26/4/19

Venturing where wise men fear to tread Englishman Robert Stedall, educated at Marlborough College and McGill University, opines in the preface to his new book: "It may seem unfathomable that tempers have continued to run so deep with friction remaining stubbornly close to the surface. Yet the protagonists have been slow to forgive and forget, jeopardizing continuing efforts to secure a lasting peace." As I write the shooting death of journalist Lyra McKee by dissident republicans in the Creggan area of Londonderry is just the latest episode in that long history. If like me your knowledge of Irish history had been previously informed by Flanders and Swann "blame it on Cromwell and William the Third" and the famine of the 1840s this lengthy book aims to give a perspective on the deeper historical roots. Read the rest of the review [link=https://anglo-celtic-connections.blogspot.com] hre [/link]
John D. Reid, Anglo-Celtic Connections blog

The former librarian has produced a real work of scholarship which is also extremely readable.
Sussex Life, May 2019 - review by Adam Trimingham

Promoted in 'Women's Lives' feature
Family Tree, May 2019