Etta Lemon cover art

Etta Lemon

The Woman Who Saved the Birds

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Etta Lemon

By: Tessa Boase
Narrated by: Tessa Boase
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About this listen

Previously titled Mrs Pankhurst's Purple Feather.

A heroine for our times, Etta Lemon campaigned for 50 years against the worldwide slaughter of birds for extravagantly feathered hats. Her legacy is the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (the RSPB), grown from an all-female pressure group of 1889 with the splendidly simple pledge: Wear No Feathers.

Etta’s long battle against ‘murderous millinery’ triumphed with the Plumage Act of 1921 - but her legacy has been eclipsed by the more glamorous campaign for the vote, led by the elegantly plumed Emmeline Pankhurst.

This gripping narrative explores two formidable heroines and their rival overlapping campaigns. Moving from the feather workers’ slums to high society, from the first female political rally to the rise of the eco feminist, it restores Etta Lemon to her rightful place in history - the extraordinary woman who saved the birds.

©2018 Tessa Boase (P)2018 Audible, Ltd Animals Biological Sciences Gender Studies Historical Outdoors & Nature Science Social Sciences Women Thought-Provoking

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All stars
Most relevant
So much I didn’t know before listening to this. It was excellent. Highly recommend to all

Mrs Pankhurst

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This was rather a wild card choice for me, but one that shined a light on a forgotten woman. What a shame that Etta Lemon is not more widely known or honoured for her work in the beginnings of animal conservation . Well narrated by the author.

Etta Lemon

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Overall I really enjoyed this story of Etta lemons campaign and hadn't appreciated the complexity of the millinery trade and the uphill battle that Etta and her fellow campaigners faced . Very much this is a book about politics, social standing and women's sufferage threaded in with the story of Ella's life and many campaign's,most prominent of which was the campaign to end the suffering and,in somd cases , extinction of birds for the sake of fashion.
If I had a criticism of this book it is that it went overly deep into the suffragette movement,which although relevant to the story sometimes became over dominate and it started to feel as those the author was getting sidetracked, however I would still recommend this book and the author/ narrator has a very good voice which is easy to listen to.

An eye opening story of the birth of the RSPB

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I’ve learned a lot
Never realised the murder of millions of innocent birds was allowed for fashion SHAMEFUL !

Brilliant

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Thoroughly enjoyed this book which filled many a gap in my historical knowledge and brought to life a formidable character with unfaltering focus and love of birds. Thank you for celebrating her life and admirable cause which gives us a stronghold in today’s wildlife conservation and preservation.

Fascinating portrait of a largely unknown conservationist

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