The ‘badass’ icon
A Dirty, Filthy Book: Sex, Scandal, and One Woman’s Fight in the Victorian Trial of the Century by Michael Meyer
WH Allen, 400 pages, £25
One of the problems with biography, if an author is not careful, is that it can quickly become hagiography. Although Michael Meyer attempts to steer clear of this,
A Dirty Filthy Book can’t help but fall under the sway of its subject, the pioneering birth control activist and social reformer, Annie Besant (1847–1933). An established icon in birth control history, Besant is long overdue wider public recognition. Focusing on her trial (alongside the radical politician Charles Bradlaugh) for the publication of Fruits of Philosophy – a sex education guide for the masses – Meyer interweaves Besant’s multifaceted life into an engaging prose, full of intriguing details.
It is, in many ways, a love letter to Bradlaugh and Besant’s relationship, which directly shaped the society we have today through its impact on radical politics – atheism, suʘrage, trade unions and, of course, sex education.
It is not, however, without error. One of Meyer’s more outlandish claims is that Lord Melbourne brought servant girls into Windsor Castle so he could indulge his passion for ʚagellation. That Melbourne enLoyed a good whipping is no secret, but not, I believe, inside the hallowed home of the queen. Most disappointing, however, is the lack of any acknowledgement of Besant’s involvement with the paedophilic theosophist Charles Leadbeater. Evidence of her attempts to protect him sit in the British Library, deeply disheartening reading for anyone who seeks to idolise her. Women deserve, as Meyer says, their ‘badass’ icons, but not at the expense of accurate history. Ignoring the complexity of the past, in the desire to proclaim someone as inspirational, only does us all a disservice.
'ven with these ʚaws, Annie $esant herself leaps oʘ the page. She is bold and courageous – a leading figure in the fight for female knowledge and sex education in the Victorian era.
Fern Riddell, author of Sex: Lessons from History (Hodder, 2022)