The cover of this book may look like something done by Mills & Boon but don't be put off by it. It shows one of the only known pictures of Anna Parnell, one of 11 children to John & Delia Parnell. Anna, along with one of her older sisters, became the leaders of the Ladies' Land League in Ireland during the 1880s. The story of Anna Parnell is one of those that seems as if it's been created by Hollywood - a woman fighting for the landless workers & families of Ireland - but this is a true woman of history. Coming from a higher class than those she was fighting for, she managed to avoid prison, unlike her brother and those men of the Land League that Anna and her sisterhood picked up the flag for in 1881. The book tells of the struggles they faced (an example - being given offices to operate from but not much other help) and the way they gave support to stop families being evicted from the land. They gave encouragement to these families (especially the women) to withhold rent from their landlords and landowners; held public meetings to publicise the strife; and, supported the country women in boycotting and even resisting evictions. The British Government - and, even more so, the then Irish Republicans (especially the males) - came to loathe them. Why? You could imprison a woman pauper... but not a woman of substance (her grandfather was a navy Commodore and then Rear Admiral in the American fleet)!! In a way, the members of the Ladies Land League almost became Untouchables. In a way, Anna Parnell was a forerunner to the Suffragettes and she seems to be a forgotten figure behind this movement but, to remember history, the great fire for freedom and equality has to start with a small spark and Anna seems to have been just that perfect point of combustion. The book is not just about Anna Parnell's involvement with the Ladies' Land League and the author, Patricia Groves, has written this more as a captivating first-person biographical of one of the strong women in Ireland at the turn of the 19th century. I'm sure, sometime in the not too distant future, this book will be turned into a film to rival that of 'Michael Collins' and 'The Wind That Shakes The Barley'. There's only one thing I can add..... BUY THIS BOOK AND ENJOY IT!!!
