Courage Calls to Courage Everywhere

by Jeanette Winterson

Courage Calls to Courage Everywhere is a timely and inspiring call to arms by one of Britain's most acclaimed and important writers. Whilst recognising how far women have come in the hundred years since getting the vote, Jeanette Winterson also insists that we must all do much more if we are to achieve true gender equality.

Examining recent women's rights movements, the worlds of politics, technology and social media and changes in the law, Winterson calls out all the ways in which women still face discrimination and disadvantage. Like the women who won the right to vote, we need to shout up, reach out, be courageous and finish the job.

(This is adapted from Winterson's 2018 Richard Dimbleby Lecture.)

Also included in this volume is Emmeline Pankhurst's landmark Suffragette speech, Freedom or Death, which she delivered in 1913.

Genres: Nonfiction, Feminism, Audiobook, Essays, Womens, Politics, Contemporary

5 pages, Audible Audio

First published November 1, 2018

About the author

Novelist Jeanette Winterson was born in Manchester, England in 1959. She was adopted and brought up in Accrington, Lancashire, in the north of England. Her strict Pentecostal Evangelist upbringing provides the background to her acclaimed first novel, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, published in 1985. She graduated from St Catherine's College, Oxford, and moved to London where she worked as an assistant editor at Pandora Press.

One of the most original voices in British fiction to emerge during the 1980s, Winterson was named as one of the 20 "Best of Young British Writers" in a promotion run jointly between the literary magazine Granta and the Book Marketing Council.

She adapted Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit for BBC television in 1990 and also wrote "Great Moments in Aviation," a television screenplay directed by Beeban Kidron for BBC2 in 1994. She is editor of a series of new editions of novels by Virginia Woolf published in the UK by Vintage. She is a regular contributor of reviews and articles to many newspapers and journals and has a regular column published in The Guardian. Her radio drama includes the play Text Message, broadcast by BBC Radio in November 2001.

Winterson lives in Gloucestershire and London. Her work is published in 28 countries.

Reviews

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of those short eloquent essays that bring clarity in a time of confusion!

Yes, we have come a long way when it comes to gender equality in Europe. And yes, we should celebrate that, both women and men... BUT as long as there still is a pay gap, a ridiculous disparity in leadership positions, a latent threat to women's security in their own homes and in public places, we need to continue raising the issue, we need to call for respect in order to eliminate the need to protect.

A woman who needs protection is by definition vulnerable, and that status quo must change. That can only be done together by all human beings, no matter if they identify as men or women or gender fluid.

As always, Jeanette Winterson knows what she is talking about. I highly recommend this for commuter trips - both for its portable size and brevity and its need to be publicly shared, discussed and generally speaking visible!

Courage!

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

On the same line as recent shorts by Mary Beard and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. This is an adaption of Winterson’s Richard Dimbleby Lecture and also commemorates the one hundredth anniversary of some women getting the vote. The cover has a pattern in the colours of the Suffragettes. As well as the lecture there is a transcript of a speech by Emmeline Pankhurst called Freedom or Death, delivered in Hartford Connecticut in 1913.
There is a brief look at the suffrage movement and an assessment of how things have progressed (or not). There is also an outline of the current state of women’s issues with a look at the #MeToo movement, education and medicine. Winterson also looks at the future and argues that more women need to be in technology and IT.
This is not theoretical analysis or closely argued and reasoned, it is polemical and passionately argued as you would expect from Winterson. It is a call to arms and action and a timely reminder that we have a long way to go.
Pankhurst’s speech at the end is well worth reading and is also a call to action and revolt and it ends thus:
“So here am I. I come in the intervals of prison appearance. I come after having been four times imprisoned under the “Cat and Mouse Act”, probably going back to be rearrested as soon as I set my foot on British soil. I come to ask you to help win this fight. If we win it, this hardest of all fights, then, to be sure, in the future it is going to be made easier for women all over the world to win their fight when their time comes.”
One wonders what Pankhurst would have made of today’s situation.

[Jo (The Book Geek) · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Don't protect me - respect me. When women are respected we don't need protecting."



Well, this review might be a little biased as I adore Winterson. She has a rare quality in her writing, that no author is able to match. Despite this being a rather slim read, it is indeed a most powerful one, and I'd recommend it to all.

I came across this book in the library yesterday, and as it had been on my list for a long while, I thought I'd better check it out. This book is actually an essay by Winterson, which was originally presented as a lecture, and also included is the introduction of the speech given by Emmeline Pankhurst titled 'Freedom Or Death', and I loved this particular inclusion. It's thanks to Pankhurst and many other Suffragettes that we have the right to vote.

It's probably not a surprise to many that I identify as a feminist, and as I've aged, my passion has increased in that area. Winterson has gathered information about historical feminism and oppression of women, and she explains to us, sometimes quite bluntly, about how this is still impacting lives today.

This book is simple to read, and very much to the point, but for some, this may not satisfy their thirst for knowledge, especially in regards to the Suffragette movement, so in that case, one just needs to delve deeper, which is what I will do after writing this review.

This beautiful book definitely packs a punch, and in regards to women and values it speaks volumes, and simply solidifies my love for the fight that is still being fought.

"There is still sex war going on - but we have to remember something simple and obvious: Discrimination of any kind is never, ever rational - it just pretends to be."

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Last year it was Mary Beard’s Women and Power; in 2018 this is the Christmas gift to slip into every feminist book-lover’s stocking. Adapted from Winterson’s Richard Dimbleby Lecture and supplemented by the text of Emmeline Pankhurst’s 1913 speech “Freedom or Death,” this is a slim, attractive volume that feels timely if insubstantial. Winterson gives a potted history of suffragism and argues that female brains are not wired differently; it’s just social programming that tells us so. Gender imbalances in university admissions and the job market continued into the 1970s, so it’s no surprise, she says, that women are still catching up 40 years later – and she supports measures that could be labeled as positive discrimination.

From the #MeToo movement she makes what seems like an odd swerve into discussing AI because computer science/Silicon Valley is very male-dominated and she wants to be sure women have a respected role in the future. My reaction to this was the same as to Beard’s book and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s We Should All Be Feminists: you can’t (and I don’t) dispute what the author has to say; for the most part the points are compelling and well made. Yet I don’t necessarily feel that I learned anything, or saw something familiar in a new way.

Favorite lines:

“When prejudice and bad science are no longer in the way, women always prove themselves as capable as men.”

“that’s how it is with patriarchy – we don’t notice the all-male panels, the movies where women are just the love interest, the number of male presenters on TV and radio […] and we do need parity, because women are one half of the population.”

[Alice-Elizabeth (Prolific Reader Alice) · Rating 5 out of 5]

So powerful, timely and exactly what I needed to read this time. This essay taken from a lecture given by Jeanette which also includes the famous Freedom or Death speech by Emmeline Pankhurst. Touching on gender equality, feminism and womanhood, I thoroughly enjoyed learning more about the fights by the Suffragette movement over one hundred years ago. Highly recommend!

[Fern Adams · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a quick read looking at gender equality in the past, present and future. It looks predominantly at women and the vote, representation and the future with AI. While it’s a great starting point for people who might not be aware of any of this, I didn’t feel it added much to what most of us will already know so I was little disappointed the arguments weren’t further developed. That being said it would be an excellent read for teenagers especially as it’s conversational writing style makes it all really come to life and show how important the subject is. It would also be great for schools looking to start discussions. A good read but not outstanding.

[Meg · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was really moved reading Emmeline Pankhurst’s landmark suffragette speech 'Freedom or death' at the end of this.
Sadly, the rest of this was not valuable to me. Objectively, this book is a great starter for those wanting to know more about feminism & women's history.
For those who already have this knowledge, everything feels basic and rushed. Big topics are brushed over within a couple of sentences, as if the issue was simply googled and some of the trending headlines were copied and pasted into the book without any expounding. The historical account was pretty bare & lacked anything interesting or new.
For what this is intended to be, it was ok. For anyone with a more extensive understanding of feminism, I would give it a miss.

(Also, Winterson's liberalism discredits a lot of the points she attempts to make)

[Lucy Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

felt TERF-y ??? idk

[yenni m · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was quick. This was fine. This covered some (white) feminist history I don't know much about and points in the direction of (intersectional) feminism to come.

I'm interested in Winterson's thoughts on future's gender and technology especially since Frankissstein (3 S's in one word!) release last year.

[Malene · Rating 4 out of 5]

From His-story to Her-story. A brilliant essay.

[Linnéa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inspiring and concise history to remind us of how far we've come, and how much we still have left.

[theuntidybookshelves · Rating 3 out of 5]

this is a short collection of two essays, one by acclaimed fiction writer jeanette winterson, and one by infamous suffragette emmeline pankhurst. despite being written over a century apart, both essays draw attention to the disadvantages faced by women in the society in which they were written. whilst winterson’s essay takes up the majority of the text, i liked the inclusion of pankhurst’s essay ‘freedom or death’ (in which she pleads to american men to help the fight of women’s suffrage) as this made winterson’s 2018 essay even more powerful. ok, we might have the vote now, but until we earn respect from our male counterparts can we really say the fight is won? i don’t think so. 3.5 stars

[Shay E · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Jeanette Winterson part of this book was, for me, disappointing; I can imagine listening to the speech from which it was adapted, generally agreeing and appreciating several turns of phrase, but also looking at my watch a lot. The last third of the book, Emmeline Pankhurst’s 1913 speech “Freedom or Death,” must have been electrifying in person, and should have been named on the cover of the book. I thought I’d grabbed a book by Jeanette Winterson, whose work I generally love, but discovered that she’d just written a preface to the main event.

[M-L · Rating 5 out of 5]

Firecracker of a book! Jeanette Winterson is a living, breathing genius. I had goosebumps for the entirety of this read (and a few tears in my eyes). This book captures the power of women together, feminism, womanhood and equality. It’s an essential read for everyone. Accessible, interesting and sharp. Utterly brilliant.

[Letizia · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 stars

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the book that I wanted from Mary Beard's Women & Power. I'm so glad that I read this slight but empowering book.

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two fantastic pieces, one from Jeanette Winterson and the other a speech given by Emmeline Pankhurst in 1913. It is short essays like these that help focus the mind on the subject of equality - where we are now, what happened to get us to the position we are in, and what to do in the future. Jeanette Winterson combines serious commentary with humorous asides (mostly about the ridiculous justifications men made to prevent full equality). I have a feeling this is going to be a book that I will pass on to many people.

[Cerys · Rating 5 out of 5]

I unexpectedly found this in Waterstones a little over a week ago and I am so glad that I did. Courage Calls To Courage Everywhere is a lecture that Winterson gave adapted into and essay. Also included is the introduction to the speech 'Freedom or Death' made by Emmeline Pankhurst in 1913. 

I am one of those people who feels very strongly about my identity as a feminist but am ashamed to admit that I know very little about the suffragette movement. When I discovered this I knew it would be a great way to expand my knowledge, even a little bit. What Winterson brought was an insightful examination of how historical feminism, and oppression, is still effecting our day to day lives. 

Many people have argued that they found this work too simplistic, but for me, someone who often initially has trouble navigating a more complex and sophisticated dialect, I appreciated how this was written at a level that most people would find easier to relate to. Often, issues such as feminism are seen as intellectual and scholarly, but that simply isn't, and shouldn't be, the case. Anyone, and everyone, can be a feminist, so why should people be excluded from the conversation in fear of looking 'dumb'? 

Moving on to the content of the essay, I actually learned quite a bit. For example, while I knew about the Marriage Bar, Courage Calls To Courage Everywhere explained it in a way that helped me understand it on a deeper level. I know about Universities not accepting women onto their courses until the late nineteenth century, but what I didn't know was until the mid-70's women made up the small percentage of 23% of the University population in the UK. 

Many of the subjects Winterson discussed are things that are at the forefront of my mind. The #MeToo movement is on everyone's lips, and Winterson made sure that she had her say. Listen to this:

The #MeToo movement, founded by black activist Tarana Burke to tackle sexual violence suffered by young black women, became the hashtag for a global movement against sexual harassment. 

The #MeToo movement isn't a return to Victorian values. Women aren't shrinking violets asking to be protected. 

This is about respect.

Winterson then goes on to list the various, and numerous, ways in which women deserve respect but sadly are not getting. 
Ultimately, I think it speaks volumes that in this small essay, at forty-something pages in a book smaller than A5, has sixteen points highlighted by me, and that's only in the first read. I am sure that if, or when, I go back through it I will find many other points that stand out to me. 

Some Favourite Quotes

"...in her mother's day it was, 'he's just being nice, or he's taking an interest in you.' For her generation unwanted sexual attention was part of a price to be paid for freedom and success."

"Don't protect me - respect me. When women are respected we don't need protecting."

"There is still sex war going on - but we have to remember something simple and obvious: Discrimination of any kind is never, ever rational - it just pretends to be."

"Not all men are violent, but all men need to work with women to combat the routine and extreme violence directed against women all over the world."

"Women have had just a hundred years to become players in every bit of the present day. It is essential that we don't allow the future to become a new exclusion zone."

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is truly a small but powerful book. Winterson has always been an unusually honest writer, especially about her own life and experiences, and here she examines the truth of women’s lives in the twentieth century. In her usual calm but determined style she writes of issues and points of information that surprise, confirm and inspire the urge to do something, look at the world in a different way, and not to accept the status quo easily. Winterson is skilled at looking at the world in a slightly different way in order to question it, but does so with such good humour that this book, like so many of her others, is an enjoyable if challenging read.
The book opens with the tale of a game which was designed by the Women’s Social and Political Union, featuring suffragettes and police. This is a subtle way into an account of the suffrage movement of the early twentieth century. While many 2018 books took quite a stern view, and rightly so, of the way that suffragettes were treated, this book cleverly links the events and personalities of the twentieth century with those of the twenty – first. It emphasises the importance of Manchester in the fight for the women’s vote. The struggle for the vote in this book is not always a middle class one; Winterson mentions women such as Annie Kenney. She deals with the inequalities that still exist today in the same astonished way as she writes about the recent discrimination of Oxbridge colleges, financial limitations, and the popular, mistaken, concept that women and men’s brains differ in some way. This is a book of protest about the existing differences in employment and life choices that are dictated by gender; the reader is left in no doubt that differences continue to this day. The book also contains a speech, “Freedom or Death” given by Emmeline Pankhurst in Hartford, Connecticut, on 13th November 1913. This obviously gives an insight into the battle for the vote at first hand, as well as the treatment which the suffragettes endured up until that point.
This is not a scholarly book, though it is full of facts. It informs without overburdening with details. One or two facts surprised me, and I enjoyed discovering them in such a useful little book. For this is a book that is quickly read, but worth keeping for picking up and referring to over a longer time. It is not a simple book, though it flows so easily that it is a most enjoyable read. The quote on the back; “Behind every Great Woman is a Man who tried to Stop Her” does not sum up the book; this is not an angry book but an upset one. It is the sort of book to read yourself and give to others, a small gem of its type, and represents extremely well the thinking of feminists at this exciting time.

[Therese · Rating 3 out of 5]

A concise and mostly enjoyable read, but it was marred by the liberalism of Winterson’s stance. As Lierre Keith has said, “People sometimes say that we will know feminism has done its job when half the CEOs are women. That’s not feminism; to quote Catherine Mackinon, it’s liberalism applied to women. Feminism will have won not when a few women get an equal piece of the oppression pie, served up in our sisters’ sweat, but when all dominating hierarchies – including economic ones – are dismantled.”

More female politicians and CEOs working within the current system is no guarantee that life will get better for women, or anyone else for that matter (including nonhumans), since it’s the system itself, rather than the lack of female participation, that is the problem.

The other thing that bothers me about Winterson’s stance is her technophilia. While she does ask whether AI could be the worst thing that has happened to women ever, and mentions the sexbot issue (though not nearly critically enough), she clearly sees technological advancement as inevitable and desirable (it’s not and it isn’t).

I’ve been a fan of Winterson for a long time now, and love many of her books, but there is a current of anthropocentrism underlying her work which I now find troubling, and her technophilia is a core part of that. Perhaps it’s too much to ask of one essay, but I found it strange that there was no mention of how ecological issues, such as climate change, affect women, or how AI could, rather than revolutionising our lives, in fact destroy humanity altogether.

In contrast, Pankhurst’s speech was brilliant.

[Sarria Butler · Rating 5 out of 5]

I gave this gem to my partner as a Christmas present. He, being a long-time Winterson fan, was suitably excited and somehow limited his reading as to make this book last two sittings.
Afterwards however, he practically threw the delightfully geometric hardcover at me and told me to read it and read it quick, he had other people that needed to consume it.

For consume it I did.

Winterson is not an author who messes with the English language, she commands it. Uses it to within an inch of it's life and has you breathing heavy with laughter, anger and unrest.
This 70 paged brief description of feminism in its making brings to light the forgotten history women were subject to at the hands of men.
Parts of our civilisation I had never known nor sought to know is thrust in our faces, the lengths men went to in order to dissuade women from the pursuit of knowledge for instance, or that the Marriage Bar existed.
We women are allowed everything men are, be that the top job, the award, or the grant for research.

As Winterson says she "was thinking of calling it Women's Equality: The Horrible History but 'history' implies the past, and suggests that the work is done."

Everyone should read this. Everyone.
Pick it up.
Learn for an hour.
It is worth it.
Women are worth it.

[Nic · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this gorgeous little book from Allen and Unwin as part of their International Women’s Day Balance for Better competition. Feminism is in issue that’s really close to my heart (obviously, I’m a woman…). But also because I have a career and a baby, I can really empathise with all the issues women find in life juggling these things. I’d only know Jeanette Winterson as the author of The Daylight Gate (among other titles), and it was nice to see she’s a women’s rights advocate as well.
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At first I thought I wasn’t going to like this book, because it started out recounting a history of the feminist movement in the UK, which I found a little boring, probably also because I’m Australian and the various names of places and politicians went over my head. But that was only the beginning, and then Jeanette went on to make some really good points and observations about feminism.

I didn’t 100% agree with everything she said (which is totally ok, it’s a contentious issue and we all have varying degrees of opinions on feminism and gender issues!), but I loved the way she wrote about the topic. I found myself at various points saying “Yeah!” and getting fired up on certain topics.

Overall, this is a really nice quick read on feminism, plus it’s a gorgeous little hardback that will look so cute on your shelf. Nothing amazing, but a good read.

[Rebeca F. · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars for a Jeanette Winterson book... I still can't believe it! She's one of my favorite writers (among the top 3, I mean, maybe even top 1) But I had high expectations for this little nonfiction book and I was a bit disappointed. I thought it was beautifully written, as is usual with her, but I found it a bit superficial, basic and slightly tone down for my taste, which was a surprise as I was expecting something really revolutionary and full of spite for anyone with a Y chromosome. I mean, this is Jeanette Winterson whom we're talking about and she's never hidden her thoughts about such gender... and I love her wholeheartedly because of it.
But well, I read this book was based on a lecture and maybe she didn't want to be too aggressive on such an instance, or too highly academic, maybe she just wanted to explain to all kind of people, in an easy and simple way, about the fight and need for gender equality. No need to scare everyone from the first approach, right?
It's still a beautiful little book and it has some nice reflections and statistics, just nothing really new or groundbreaking. Probably aimed at readers who don't know much about the subject or those that are just starting to get interested in it.

[Emma Dargue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short series of essays well worth reading. Contained within this collection are two essays by Jeanette Winterson and one by Emmeline Pankhurst. Firstly I really enjoyed and got a lot from both of the essays from Jeanette Winterson with the first one really chiming me. Considering the essays by Winterson were part of the 100th anniversary of the full vote given to women in the UK. Within the first essay Winterson highlights how even in a three year period from 2018 to 2021 not a lot has changed and the part that really resonated with me was the quotation of figures of the abuse which have not changed a great deal in the last three years despite new legislation such as the Coercive Control legislation that has saved and will continue to save women from abuse and violence. I'll stop before this becomes an essay but you get the picture. I also really liked the essay by Emmeline Pankhurst which despite reading in another book was still as impactful 108 years on as it was when it was first given. This book is well worth a read and should be part of the history curriculum in schools and universities.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to the lovely people at Allen & Unwin for kindly sending me a copy for review.

"Speak it. Write it. Read it. Make it visible.
Let it be heard.
Let courage call to courage everywhere." - Jeanette Winterson, Courage Calls to Courage Everywhere

Adapted from Jeanette Winterson’s 2018 Richard Dimbleby Lecture, Courage Calls to Courage Everywhere marks one hundred years since women won the right to vote in the UK. Winterson looks back over the years, noting how far we have come since 1918 and what still needs to change.

Courage Calls to Courage Everywhere is very current, touching on the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements, the Women’s March, Trump’s presidency and Artificial Intelligence. Also included is Emmeline Pankhurst’s speech, Freedom or Death, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

I would have preferred the book to have been slightly more cohesive and the historical events structured in a more chronological order; rather than bouncing around from topic to topic and time period to time period, which had the tendency to be disorientating

Courage Calls to Courage Everywhere a great overview of women’s suffrage and feminism from before 1918 to the present. It's not particularly in depth but it’s a deeply passionate and a fantastic introduction to feminism, women’s suffrage and women’s rights, I highly recommend it to anyone who has an interest in any of these topics.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Courage calls to courage everywhere.

I love essays about women’s rights and feminism, I also love reading about the Suffragette’s and the tactics that they employed to help them get the vote. And I do love Winterson’s other work.

So this was a good little pick for me.

The only thing I would say about this book, is that it is quite Western-centric and I would have enjoyed reading about how women in other countries around the world are dealing with these same issues and with issues that are unique to their own cultures.

It could also be more padded out. The essay seemed quite thin to me, almost as if it had been edited down. It could easily have been longer and covered a wider range of topics.

But that’s pretty much my only criticism.

[Toni · Rating 5 out of 5]

This originated as a speech given by Jeanette Winterson a few years ago and also includes the wonderful Emmeline Pankhurst’s “Freedom or Death” speech, given in the US in 1913.

As Jeanette Winterson says, it’s about “Campaigning Women, Noisy Women, Militant Women”, it gives an overview of the movement since the days of the Industrial Revolution and suffragists to the present day. She argues that in the age of AI, “biology as a destiny seems very old fashioned indeed”.

While we have seen great strides, even in my lifetime, this was published after the “me too” movement at a time when misogyny is still, unfortunately and disappointingly, rife.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had time to pass and was tremendously grateful that this slim volume on women's rights by Jeanette Winterson happened to be in my bag. I half expected it to be sourer than it was and perhaps more weighed down by high flown literary style and content (I find Winterson's work variably accessible and engaging). It was actually quite straightforward - as might be expected from a work which was written for broadcast - and led well into the Freedom and Death speech by Emmeline Pankhurst included at the end.

[Malou · Rating 5 out of 5]

All women (and men) should read this. I was shocked to find out just how much and how long women were oppressed all over the world just for being female. And the oppression in some areas has been so incesibly recent, like being allowed to go to uni - and then even when women were, they would not be awarded degrees regardless of their performance. Winterson gives us the history and the current stage that we’re in now where there is r (shockingly so) quite some inequality between the genders to be battled. We have a lot of fighting left to do and this excerpt has really opened my eyes

[Colleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 4 of my #2023readingchallenge is Jeanette Winterson's Courage Calls to Courage Everywhere.
What a better place to read a quick 100 page book than the doctor's waiting room? And what a good read this was. It would make a nice double feature with We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

This is about equality, feminism, technology, and the future. I discovered this by looking up Winterson after reading The Daylight Gate (fantastic woman-led romance novel). Turns out she's a great writer in a variety of genres! Really worth a read.