'Change is brought about by the countless small deeds of unknown people. Howard Zinn
Four stories spanning the century from 1910 – 2003.
Daisy, Nora and Charlie tell their stories in first person. Through their eyes we witness the fight for women’s suffrage, two world wars, the general strike, the rise of fascism in the 30s and the sea-change general election in 1945. Margaret’s story bookends the novel. Her struggle to regain her political faith is the well-spring for the other narratives and, in turn, she is the beneficiary of the lives that came before her.
Four narratives interlinked by historical events, by family, love and friendship, by themes of protest and resilience; the power of education and the lessons of history. Small Acts of Courage is a celebration of history’s unsung women and of the enduring power of hope.
Four stories spanning the century from 1910 – 2003.
- Daisy is a music hall performer in Edwardian London. An orphan, born in a workhouse, she has made her own way all her life. Tough, cheeky and cheerful, she is a fighter looking for a cause and finds her natural home in the Suffragette movement.
- Nora is a millworker from Salford, the latest in a line of working-class northern radicals. Whilst nursing the Gallipoli wounded in WW1, she meets Rose, a privileged woman from a wealthy background. Initially at odds, they fall in love and make a life together, running a progressive school for girls in the years between the wars.
- Charlie is a middle-class girl, sheltered and naïve, caught up in the left-wing politics of the 1930s. When her new allegiances lead to estrangement from her family, she has to rebuild her life and gets a job teaching at Nora and Rose’s school.
- Margaret is a journalist who has resigned from the Downing St press office in protest at the 2003 Iraq war. Amid a personal and professional crisis, she escapes to a Greek island, where she meets Charlie, now in her eighties. The bond they form helps her find a way forward and face the future.
Daisy, Nora and Charlie tell their stories in first person. Through their eyes we witness the fight for women’s suffrage, two world wars, the general strike, the rise of fascism in the 30s and the sea-change general election in 1945. Margaret’s story bookends the novel. Her struggle to regain her political faith is the well-spring for the other narratives and, in turn, she is the beneficiary of the lives that came before her.
Four narratives interlinked by historical events, by family, love and friendship, by themes of protest and resilience; the power of education and the lessons of history. Small Acts of Courage is a celebration of history’s unsung women and of the enduring power of hope.
