Rise up with a song : the true story of Ethel Smyth, suffragette composer

Rise up with a song The true story of Ethel Smyth, suffragette composer

Diane Worthey

Book - 2022

"In 1867 England, a girl learned to be proper and speak when spoken to. But one girl marched to a different beat. Ethel Smyth climbed fences, explored graveyards, and yearned to become a famous composer at a time when only men could publisher their music. But become a composer she did, first signing her music as E. Smyth so people couldn't guess her gender then eventually writing openly as a woman (but still sometimes not getting paid!). Ethel had had enough. She joined the suffragette movement, marching in the streets and fighting for the right to vote. She even composed the famous 'March of the Women' battle cry--and directed it from her cell window with a toothbrush when she was put in prison."--

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Subjects
Smyth, Ethel, > 1858-1944 > Juvenile literature.
Smyth, Ethel, > 1858-1944.
Suffragists > Great Britain > Biography > Juvenile literature.
Women composers > Great Britain > Biography > Juvenile literature.
Suffragists > Great Britain > Biography.
Women composers > Great Britain > Biography.
Suffragists.
Women composers.
Great Britain.
Biographies.
Juvenile works.
Genres
Biographies
Juvenile works
Published
Fresno, California : Bushel & Peck Books [2022]
Language
English
Main Author
Diane Worthey (author)
Other Authors
Helena Pérez García (illustrator)
Edition
First edition
Physical Description
1 volume (unpaged) : color illustrations, color map ; 27
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN
9781638191315
Contents unavailable.
Review by Kirkus Book Review

A stirring tribute to a free-spirited composer who rode roughshod over her time's constraints on women. Following up her profile of conductor Antonia Brico, In One Ear and Out the Other (2020), illustrated by Morgana Wallace, with a look at another strong-minded woman in music, Worthey introduces a British child who preferred outdoorsy adventures to genteel pursuits, fell in love with music at age 12, and went on to compose operas and chamber pieces despite her father's displeasure, the necessity of publishing anonymously (in early years, at least), and the refusal of some orchestras to perform anything by a woman. Joining the suffragettes, she set Cicely Hamilton's anthemic "March of the Women" to music--and after getting herself arrested, led fellow prisoners in performances waving a toothbrush as a baton. Pérez García illustrates that episode and earlier scenes in canted depictions of pale-skinned marchers and musicians in Edwardian dress arranged around a redheaded force of nature aglow with self-confidence. With a final view of a racially diverse group of modern women standing together arm in arm, the author closes with lyrical lines about Smyth's music marching on to inspire women worldwide "…today, / …tomorrow, / …and forever." An afterword with photos, a timeline, and a select but lengthy list of sources fills in further details of Smyth's long career. (This book was reviewed digitally.) A rare nod to a now (but undeservedly) obscure artist, eloquent and inspirational. (Picture-book biography. 7-10) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

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