From Plymouth to Parliament: A Rhetorical History of Nancy Astor's 1919 Campaign (review)

Book Reviews 91 Network analysis, as used by McFadden, severely constrains the complexity of inferences drawn from a remarkable amount of international research. Golden Cables seems more a laudatory compendium of women's biographies, mentioning who met whom, than an analysis of the effects these contacts had on the emergence of an international feminist movement. At the end of chapter after chapter, the author leaves and in some cases poses more questions than she answers, giving the book as a whole a feeling of unfinishedness. Little sustained attention is paid to rhetorical texts that might hold evidence as to how a given women affected the thinking of another. We are also left wondering exactly how international feminist activists conceptualized linkages among women and how they attempted to overcome the considerable obstacle of nationalism. Did they use a rhetoric of motherhood ? Sisterhood? World citizenship? A number of these questions are addressed for the years 1888-1945 by Leila J. Rupp in her excellent study, Worlds of Women: The Making of an International Women's Movement (Princeton University Press, 1997). Shortcomings aside, McFadden has pointed scholars in promising new directions . She has demonstrated the importance of accounting for communication technologies when studying nineteenth-century social movements and has significantly expanded the scope of research on the woman's rights movement. Due in large part to the work of McFadden and Rupp, as well as the visibility of the 1995 Beijing conference on women, momentum is building for the necessary and promising study of international feminist movements. Susan Zaeske University of Wisconsin, Madison From Plymouth to Parliament: A Rhetorical History of Nancy Astor's 1919 Campaign. By Karen J. Musolf. New York: St Martin's Press, 1999; pp. xi + 165. $45.00. Karen Musolf has written a lively and well-documented account of the 1919 campaign of Lady Nancy Astor, the first woman to be seated in the British House of Commons. Musolf's account has drawn from the Astor collection of manuscripts and newspaper clippings in the Reading, England library. Because English newspapers of the period were particularly detailed in their accounts of election campaigns, and because this was a by-election (a special election to replace a Member of Parliament) the newspapers contain great detail about the election and the addresses of the candidates. As an early female candidate, an heiress and the wife of a peer, Astor naturally engaged the attention of the newspapers and of the electorate. Drawing on these sources, Musolf was able to depict Astor's speaking style as well as identifying the kinds of audience responses that appeared. Astor was a lively and engaging speaker, who used repartee and wit to handle hecklers, but could be 92 Rhetoric & Public Affairs outspoken and blunt upon occasion. To one heckler she retorted: "If you don't want [to hear my] answer, then what in thunder did you ask a question for?" (100). On other occasions, she spoke openly and empathetically to audiences, particularly those composed of women. At these meetings, she began with a short speech attacking the opposition and setting forth her own ideas. The remainder of the meeting consisted of questions—sometimes hostile—and answers, a format at which Astor, with her quick mind, was particularly successful. She used humor, narrative , and self-disclosure effectively at these meetings. During the campaign she fashioned a variety of personas for herself, proving to be capable of adjusting to a variety of audiences and occasions, mother and caregiver ; "hustler" for her aggressive, attacking style. She vigorously denied she was a warming pan, keeping the seat warm until her husband could run for election. The book is a strong contribution to the history of women speakers and continues the tradition of rhetorical/historical analysis of public address in the tradition of the Brigance volumes on American public address. Musolf's book would better serve American readers by giving more contextual information, particularly about election customs. For example, Clivedon, Astor's principal residence, was not located in the Plymouth Sutton district, although Members of the House of Commons were not expected to live in their districts. Musolf takes for granted that readers will understand the conventions and terminology of English electioneering...