London: George Allen & Unwin. 1924.
A rare suffragette novel.
First edition. 8vo. 182x120mm. pp. 378. Green cloth, lettered in red. Fading and slight soiling to spine and bumping to head and foot of spine. Edges toned and slight cracking to hinges. Ownership inscription on front free endpaper. Overall a very good copy of a scarce book, Worldcat recording eleven copies and no copies appearing in the auction records.
The Call is regarded as on of the most important suffrage and feminist novels. Drawing heavily on the life of her stepmother, the scientist Hertha Ayrton, Zangwill tells the story of a young chemist Ursula Winfield who, angered at the injustices faced by women, abandons her work to join the suffrage movement. As the war begins she returns to work where her development of a method of extinguishing liquid fire helps the war effort. Once more, she faces a struggle as she tries to persuade the military to use the invention. Edith Zangwill was an active (and activist) member of the Women's Social and Political Union and a founder of the Jewish League for Women's Suffrage. She acutely felt the difficulties faced by women both politically and professionally and this novel is her loud call for equality. Largely ignored through the twentieth century, The Call has recently been revived in a scholarly edition published by Bloomsbury and an attractive Persephone Books edition.
