This is the second book that I’ve read by Tania Blanchard and it was great to continue following along Hannah’s journey as she carried her work with the Suffragettes to gain the vote for women.

While I knew parts of the Suffragette story, having taught it in schools, I think it’s quite hard to gain an understanding of how violent some of the protests were or how much the women suffered in the jails.

This book, while at sometimes graphic, brings us into the early 1900’s and gives an emotional story of what it was like for women at the time.

‘An Undeniable Voice,’ by Tania Blanchard

I have always felt a certain pride that Australia was one of the first countries (after New Zealand) to allow (white) women to vote. And puzzled by the slowness of Britain to do the same. Was it because of centuries of entrenched attitudes in Old Europe – attitudes towards women and men, and their relative roles in social, economic and political spheres? After all, many of those attitudes were transplanted to the Antipodes, along with convicts, rabbits and a cornucopia of noxious weeds. So why did Britain lag so far behind us before bestowing on half its population the basic democratic right to vote for their representation in government?

An Undeniable Voice traces the long-drawn-out fight for women’s suffrage in Britain. It’s a follow-on from an earlier novel by Tania Blanchard, A Woman of Courage, which I have not read – and I found that it reads perfectly well as a stand-alone.

It is 1907, and we meet Hannah Rainforth, an active member of her small northern colliery community in England. She and her husband run the pub she inherited from her parents, which she has turned into a kind of community hub, a meeting place for people to come together for various groups and projects, and support when times are hard.

But when her husband dies suddenly, Hannah is left with three children to support, and comes face to face with the inequalities experienced by women in all spheres of life: in marital laws, property, finance and employment. She knows that nothing will change unless all citizens are entitled to vote for those who make the laws that affect them.

Hannah has to make some hard decisions when she loses the right to continue as publican: moving to London, she returns to her teaching career but must leave her two sons to do so. Working to regain her old life and reunite her family, she also throws herself into the suffrage movement.

The narrative gives a comprehensive and compelling account of the activities of those working for women’s suffrage: from polite petitions to smashing windows, from peaceful marches and deputations to imprionment and hunger strikes. The brutal treatment of women on the streets and in prisons at the hands of police, government spies and prison guards is hard to read at times. What were these men so afraid of? Obviously the thought of losing their tight grip on the reins of power drove their violent and at times, bizarre responses.

Some readers may be surprised at the historical facts highlighted in this novel: that even for men, ‘suffrage’ was not then universal. There were property qualifications that attended the right to vote. In other words, men had to own a certain value of property before could register to vote. How much harder was it for women, then, when there were barriers for women owning property or taking out a loan in their own right?

The struggle for women’s suffrage took much, much longer than it should have in Britain. It was not until the ravages of WWI so thoroughly shook the nation that it was impossible for things to return to the old ways, that true progress began to happen.

In those long years, Hannah and her compatriots risked and suffered a great deal.

We all owe these women, and the men who supported them, a great deal.

An Undeniable Voice is published by HarperCollins in October 2024.
My thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for a review copy.

While I haven’t read A Woman Of Courage, An Undeniable Voice by Tania Blanchard seems to sit perfectly as a stand alone story. Having said that, as I really enjoyed reading An Undeniable Voice I do intend to read A Woman Of Courage.

Hannah Rainforth is a strong and likeable main character in a story about the suffragettes and their fight for the future of women. It is a well researched historical novel that gives depths to the early 1900’s.

Written in a very readable style this was an enjoyable read.

Highly recommended historical fiction.

This review is based on a complimentary copy from HarperCollins Publishers Australia via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

#AnUndeniableVoice #NetGalley

Having read A Woman of Courage I just had to request and read this book to see where the fight ended up and what happened to the wonderful characters I had come to know and love. Hannah Todd's story continues in the fight for women's rights, but things don't always go as we hope and this story (or continuation thereof) saddened me in parts but I still loved the strength of the women in this book and there fights, their strength and courage to continue to bring women to the fore.

The Suffragette movement of the times is quite interesting and the research done to write not one but two books about this topis/subject is amazing. I really enjoyed following on with the journey of not only Hannah but her friends and family as well. A very heartfelt, intriguing and interesting look at history. My only complaint is that it wasn't so different from the first book so I found some of it repetitive. All in all though I did enjoy reading more about Hannah and her family.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishers Australia for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

The suffrage movement is one I did not know much about but now that I have learnt more I realise it's a important part of our history. An Undeniable Voice continues the story of Hannah who now has a young family while continuing to conduct her work. I can tell that extensive research has gone into writing this story and it makes it feel more personal. I love the characters and the plot and experiencing my own knowledge.

An Undeniable Voice is the sequel to A Woman of Courage. It continues the story of Hannah Todd now Hannah Rainforth and her involvement with the suffragette movement, the right of women to have the vote and to have a voice for the powerless women in society .
I really enjoyed A Woman of Courage so looked forward to continuing Hannah’s story.
It is the 1900s and Hannah is now married to Roger and they run the Oxley and Plough, Hannah’s family pub, which is a community haven in Ebberfield. They have three children and Hannah is deeply involved in the Ebberfield Community, the suffragette movement and is keen to see social change for women.
There has been extensive research undertaken that takes the reader on a journey of the suffragette movement and the war years through Hannah’s life and that of her family’s ups and downs. There is drama, loss of the pub, threatening letters, family bonds, friendships, loyalty and much more that make this another wonderful historical fiction book by Tania Blanchard.

The suffrage movement has been trying to bring about change for years, despite it being the start of a new century, for Hannah Rainforth and her colleges are frustrated, the English parliament are still dragging their heels with giving women from all walks of life the right to vote, open a bank account and be financially independent. Men still think they are smarter and superior to women, and a woman’s place is in the home, and looking after their husbands and children.

So Hannah and her acquaintances take to the streets of London and they assume with so many women banding together they wouldn't be ignored and the men would have to take notice of their demands. A nonviolent way to get their message across and they discover it’s not the case at all, scuffles break out, women are heckled and assaulted and the police do nothing about it. The women are not seen as progressive and ground breakers, but trouble makers and some decide to take things further, going on hunger strikes and vandalism.

As we know in the early 1900’s several major historical events happened, the sinking of the titanic, The Great War and the Spanish Flu epidemic hit. Hannah witnesses these things, some affect her more than others and meanwhile she’s trying to juggle financial problems, returning to teaching, motherhood and raising teenagers, and questioning if she’s being a good mother, sister, friend, person and suffragette.

I received a digital copy of An Undeniable Voice from HarperCollins Australia and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Tania Blanchard likes to write historical fiction inspired by true stories, about women who push the boundaries of the time and she’s done this once again in her latest saga.

You feel like you’re walking alongside Hannah and her fellow suffragettes, while they put their own safety and reputations on the line to bring about much needed social change, reform and get the right to vote. A story about women standing up for what’s just and the personal cost, friendships and romantic relationships, family and raising children, power of words and education, how difficult it was for widows and poor families, The Great War and conscription and the attacks on English soil and I had no idea how many happened and there severity.

Five stars from me, I was totally engrossed by the well written narrative and could easily relate to its themes, I highly recommend reading An Undeniable Voice, and Ms. Blanchard’s previous book A Woman of Courage and I can’t wait for the next instalment in the series to be released.

This is the first book by Tania Blanchard that I have read. As I was unsure of what to expect, I was open minded to see what the story entailed. Well I was certainly surprised and very happy to read it.

Hannah was a happy woman. A business, a husband and 3 children. They were enjoying a family picnic with their dogs. What else would make her happy.

When Hannah has terrible news and needs to deal with something she never knew about and has to split the family up to ensure all will be ok, it hurts her more than she can imagine.

She deals with new problems by standing up as a woman’s suffragette to ensure woman and especially her daughter will be acknowledged by men.

As war erupts, Hannah must let her children go to do what they know is best and trust they will return to her.

The sequel to A Woman of Courage continues the story of the amazing work of Hannah Todd and her fight for the right for women to vote. Whilst you could read this is a stand alone I’d definitely recommend reading the first to meet the family and see how they came to where they are in this story.

Another thoroughly researched historical fiction novel. Tania really paints a picture of what it was like for women at the time. I’m glad I live in today’s time. As well as covering the suffragette movement, events such as the Spanish flu, a mining disaster and World War I were covered. I always appreciate little details such as managing rationing and bullying girl’s football league.

Set again in Ebberfield and then Notting Hill, Hannah’s children grow up and end up in Australia and posted in WWI to places like Egypt, Malta and Salonika. I enjoyed seeing the family grow and change and all their drama. I was really quite invested in them all. It was wonderful to see the laws passed for women to vote. I didn’t realize there was so much politics between different suffragette groups and was surprised how much violence there was in the protests. If all that wasn’t enough there was also a subplot with threatening letters. All the different elements were easy to follow, came together nicely and made for an engaging read. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed being in Hannah’s world and learning about the suffragette movement.

Another great read by Tania Blanchard
A story about a difficult time for women who fought hard for all women to come in the future.
Even though her family and livelihood were threatened Hannah never gave up when winning the right for women to vote became a priority.