Why read The Fair Sex - Women and the Great Western Railway?

Book cover of The Fair Sex - Women and the Great Western Railway

Book description

The Great Western Railway struggled with what was called 'the women question' for many years. It had heartily agreed with The Railway Sheet and Official Gazette that 'the first aim of women's existence is marriage, that accomplished, the next is ordering her home'. Yet women were the cheapest form of…

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Why read it?

1 author picked The Fair Sex - Women and the Great Western Railway as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Annie Murray

Author

When I wrote my book, which includes a lot about the railways wartime, I struggled to find any books which described women’s experience. When it comes to railways, nerdy descriptions of wheel configurations abound! Enter this book. Rose Matheson describes the fascinating and often troubled history of women when it comes to railway work and its opposition by male employers and unions. A good number of women were employed by the railways in World War Two, but never allowed to drive engines or stoke the fires. The work they were permitted to do is described here with plenty of photographs—as…

From Annie's list on The best books featuring World War Two that captures little hidden corners of life at that time.