Controlling Women

As the declaration of war reverberates across Britain, an unlikely group of women embark on a mission.

They include a militant suffragette force-fed in Holloway: the widow of the former Bishop of London and pillar of the establishment; a blue-blooded radical whose ancestors came over with William the Conqueror and a court reporter, born in the workhouse to a single mother and raised in the squalor of the East End.

These bold, complex and, in some cases, flawed women made history, fighting the authorities and sometimes each other. Their story is both a vivid snapshot of social upheaval and a rich tapestry of ethics and emotions. And it shows us just how far we still have to go in the fight for justice for women.

• "A pacy, probing account of women's long fight to get into the police, full of tangled feuds and fascinating characters."

  Emma Donoghue, author of "Room" and "The Paris Express"

• "Groundbreaking, extremely readable and expertly researched"

  Kate Vigurs, author of "Mission France, The True History of the Women of SOE"

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