MARIA DUARTE, LEO BOIX and ANGUS REID review Brides, Dead of Winter, A Night Like This, and The Librarians
A woman for all seasons
SYLVIA HIKINS is enthralled by a biography of an extraordinary, 19th-century mould-breaker who influenced policies regarding the status of women in society
PRESSING AGENDAS: A Punch cartoon from 1867 mocks John Stuart Mill's attempt to replace the term 'man' with 'person,' ie give women the right to vote: "Pray clear the way, there, for these – a – persons." (author unknown)
[Public Domain] ![REBELS: Ebada Hassan and Safiyya Ingar in Nadia Fall’s powerful debut feature Brides [Pic: IMDb]](https://msd11.gn.apc.org/sites/default/files/styles/desktop/public/2025-09/round%20up%20web_0.jpg.webp?itok=41xI6jhN)
MARY CONWAY recommends an early Shakespearean tragedy that feels so contemporary that it mirrors our daily news
A ghost story by Mexican Ave Barrera, a Surrealist poetry collection by Peruvian Cesar Moro, and a manifesto-poem on women’s labour and capitalist havoc by Peruvian Valeria Roman Marroquin
DAVID NICHOLSON recommends a dazzling production of Bernstein’s opera set in a world where chaos and violence are greeted by equanimity
MARY CONWAY is frustrated by a new play that loses its drama amid the moral dilemma of re-settling children in the aftermath of WWII
Acclaimed as a masterpiece when it premiered, this study of story-telling in an Irish pub more than lives up to expectations, says MARY CONWAY
SYLVIA HIKINS relishes a comedy that dives deep into Liverpool’s divided loyalties
Trailblazer: Barbara Leigh Smith Bodichon, The First Feminist to Change Our World
by Jane Robinson
Doubleday £11.58
OH MY goodness, here’s another game changer from the past who didn’t fit the bill regarding gender, establishment ideology, power elites, patriarchy, who has been erased by most historians writing his-story!
Barbara Leigh Smith Bodichon was born in 1827 and during her lifespan of 64 years, pioneered and developed far reaching concepts regarding feminism, women’s rights, equal opportunities, diversity, inclusion and mental health awareness.
More from this author
SYLVIA HIKINS relishes a comedy that dives deep into Liverpool’s divided loyalties
SYLVIA HIKINS recommends a sweeping survey of the world's biggest desert and the people who live there
SYLVIA HIKINS casts an eye across the contemporary art brought to a city founded on colonialism and empire
SYLVIA HIKINS is bowled over by a wonderful show that both entertains and educates
