Bodies Politic

Set against the background of the struggle for votes for women and the looming tragedy of the First World War, Michiel Heyns's novel examines the private lives of the participants in these events, focused through the highly articulate accounts of three suffragettes: Emmeline Pankhurst, the formidable leader of the Women's Movement; her daughter Sylvia, 'the weeping suffragette'; and the enchanting Helen, who was loved by Harry, the neglected son of Emmeline and beloved brother of Sylvia. Moving, dramatic and at times grimly humorous, Bodies Politic is an entirely original account of great love and bitter resentment, political victory and personal defeat, but ultimately of the indomitable spirit that escapes the shackles of the body. Michiel Heyns is one of South Africa's most acclaimed authors, and was until recently Professor of English at the University of Stellenbosch. He is the author of The Typewriter's Tale, The Children's Day, Bodies Politic and Lost Ground.