Notable Sussex Women

Think of some famous women who worked in Sussex in the 19th or early 20th centuries. I bet you're thinking about someone like Virginia Woolf, or Catherine Cookson. Can you name the Gaiety Girl who became an MP? The white woman who led a protest march of 20 000 black Africans? The heiress who gave away £12m? The rally driver who beat Stirling Moss? Thought not.

In 19th Century England, there were women working in most walks of life. Working class women did whatever they could to raise the money to feed their families and were paid scandalously little for their efforts. Middle and upper class women were involved in a far wider range of occupations but it was not 'nice' for them to accept payment and they rarely got the credit or respect a man doing the same work would have expected.

We tend to forget what a long way women have come in a short time. Although there are quite a few famous women whose deeds date from before the 20th century, there are far more who were the 'movers and shakers' of their time and yet have been forgotten.

This is not the first book Helena Wojtczak has written on this subject and she says that, when she was researching her previous books ('Women of Victorian Sussex' - a social history, and 'Railway Women') it struck her that town monuments and records offices all had their lists of local worthies displayed proudly, and that there were remarkably few women on those lists. This realisation was, at least in part, the inspiration for 'Notable Sussex Women'. By unearthing and recording details of some of these forgotten women, and giving them a well-deserved place amongst the more famous names of their era, Helena Wojtczak has gone a good way towards redressing the balance.

As well as 580 biographical sketches, there are some fabulous photos in this book. It is a rewarding book to own as a coffee-table book for Sunday morning browsing as well as being a candidate for local historians' reference shelves. But for me personally, what makes it irresistible is the collection of quotes, poems and polemics by women from the last two centuries who knew a woman's place all to well and had a fair deal to say about it. Here are some choice ones...

The philosophers seem to know that hard work never unsexes a woman: only wages can do that - Mrs Swisshelm

Anonymous was a woman. - Virginia Woolf

A blank wall of social and professional antagonism faces the woman physician that forms a situation of singular and painful loneliness, leaving her without support, respect or professional counsel. - Dr Elizabeth Blackwell.

And, just in case you are too young to know what they are fretting about, here are a couple of quotes from some very well known male-type people:

When a woman becomes a scholar there is usually something wrong with her sexual organs. - Nietzche

I consider that women who are authors, lawyers, and politicians are monsters. - Renoir

You bring up your girls as if they were meant for sideboard ornaments and the complain of their frivolity - Ruskin

And, to sum up:

I think, therefore I am single. - Lizz Winstead

Motor Mouth Written By Janet Evanovich

Motor Mouth is a humorous and enticing story about NASCAR racing and the adventures of a few teams that chose to find trouble, both with NASCAR and other racing teams. Included in this story are spotters that work from rooftops telling their drivers when to move, mechanics that maintain not only the cars but all the equipment needed to transport the cars and equipment, and the drivers themselves and their interaction with all of the aforementioned.

Alex is known as "Motor Mouth" being driver Sam Hooker's spotter. She loves adventure and fun while engaged in any racing activity as well as any wild activity apart from racing. During the last race of the season while giving Sam instructions via radio, a terrible wreck occurs on the racetrack. Among serious conversation along with humor, the happenings and interaction due to the wreck were described leading up to the restart of the race. Beans, a huge Saint Bernard dog belonging to Hooker becomes a big part of the humorous parts of the book. No matter how serious things got, Beans would always do something to take attention away from the seriousness of anything disastrous.

Hooker and Alex suspected some foul play from the owners and team of the winning car as some strange racing car movements occurred that were far from normal. They suspected 'traction control' that would tend to make a car perform oddly even though they could not imagine how that could be transmitted to a car. This starts a private investigation by Alex, Hooker, and of course, Beans that lead to breaking and entering, stealing vehicles, running from the law, finding dead bodies in very unexpected areas, and finding a way to dispose of the bodies some place distant and getting to that area without being followed by any of the racers or the law. Most of this book takes place in south Florida and includes the families and friends of Alex and Hooker. Believe me, you will meet some REAL characters that will say and do most anything. That's what makes this book so funny and interesting at the same time.

I am not a NASCAR fan so I started this book without much hope that I would enjoy it. I was completely wrong. I have enjoyed many of Janet Evanovich's books and this one is no exception-by far! This book is for you if you need a faster read that contains all of the above.