The Century Girls: The Final Word from the Women Who’ve Lived the Past Hundred Years of British History
Simon & Schuster, 340 pages, £20 by Tessa Dunlop
Among the many writers publishing books in 2018 to mark the 100th anniversary of the Representation of the People Act, author Tessa Dunlop has found a uniquely personal approach. She’s interviewed six British women who’ve lived for over a century, and reconstructed the remarkable stories of their lives. These women were born at the end of the First World War, came of age during the Second and witnessed the complete transformation of British society, and women’s place within it.
Their diverse experiences show that there is no one way to be British, or a woman. Social class played a large role in defining the opportunities that were available. One of the interviewees, Joyce, was born the bright daughter of a prosperous civil servant, pursued an education and has had a distinguished career as a classicist. Another, Edna, was forced to work as a housemaid from the age of 14 when her father’s death plunged her family into poverty. They come from many different cultural backgrounds, too – Helena has lived almost all of her life in rural Wales and was made an honorary druid of the Eisteddfod last year, while Olive was born in British Guiana and emigrated to London in 1952. Dunlop has pulled off an impressive feat of oral history, weaving the women’s memories of their long lives into a coherent narrative and setting it in the context of events at the time. Inevitably, a writer’s role in shaping interviews means that they are adding a level of interpretation to the subject’s words, and it’s occasionally unclear if Dunlop’s descriptions are based on what the women said or something she imagined. But her interviewees’ voices shine through. They recount their memories in incredible detail, creating a moving portrait of a world that is now lost forever. If you have older female relatives, this book will inspire you to capture their stories. Rosemary Collins is the Editorial Assistant of Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine