The Accidental Suffragist is a historical fiction based on the suffrage movement in the west.

Helen Fox, a thirty year old wife and a mother of four, works at a button factory in the lower west side of the New York city. With their meager earnings, it is increasingly becoming difficult to feed the family and keep them warm. Their twelve year old daughter Abigail wants to help and starts working at a Triangle Shirtwaist factory.

While at work, Helen receives a news that there has been a fire at her daughter’s factory. Unfortunately, Abigail doesn’t survive the fire. Helen passes out outside the factory where the Suffragists come to her rescue. They inform her of how they are working for the right to vote for women. They convince Helen that it is possible to prevent for other children, the fate that her daughter met, by passing the law to stop underage hire.

Helen is seduced by the movement and is determined to join the cause. However, with the family that’s grieving, hungry and cold, Helen must decide what is ultimately important and how to achieve it.

How did it make me feel?

One of the reasons why I love historical fiction so much is because I get to learn so many new and important things that I probably would’ve never learnt if not for stories like these. I loved learning about the suffrage movement.

The Accidental Suffragist is a simple story of one woman’s yearning for justice for her daughter and for women’s right all over America. I especially loved the depictions of of Helen’s internal struggle, her doubts in mingling with the women from high-class societies. 

One thing that I was thinking all the way was, where are the Black women in this movement and why was there no mention of their involvement in any way? I really appreciated the author’s note at the end in this regard. Black women were left out of the Suffragist movement during the time period that this book is based on; 1911-1920. I greatly valued the author’s acknowledgement that, ” Women from every background, color, and every race have the same rights and should have been addressed the same.” 

The Accidental Suffragist is releasing on June 1, 2021. Get your copy on Amazon. If you use my link to buy, I may get a small commission at NO additional cost to you! It will help me keep my blog running! 🙂 Thank you for your support!

Love historical fiction? Check out my reviews of the ones I read and loved!