No Surrender

Scarlett and Sophie Rickard present No Surrender, a graphic novel adapted from Constance Maud’s 1911 suffrage novel about English women’s rights, a classic examining of civil disobedience.

Constance Maud was at the heart of the British campaign for women’s votes. Her novel No Surrender was published at the height of that struggle and used as a persuasive tool by suffragists. Hailed by Emily Wilding Davison as “a book which breathes the very spirit of our Women’s Movement,” the fast-paced story interweaves the lives of women from all classes working together to bring about change. Our hero, Jenny, is a small but fierce Lancashire textile mill worker who puts principle before everything.

No Surrender is sometimes funny, sometimes violent, but always exciting and authentic. It is highly regarded as an important document of the arguments for and against extending votes to women, for its witty storytelling, and for an unflinching depiction of the rapid escalation of violence encountered by the women involved.

In this faithful graphic novel adaptation, creators Scarlett and Sophie Rickard craft a compelling fiction that paints a comprehensive picture of social, political, economic, and cultural life in early 20th-century Britain that is still acutely relevant today. The graphic format is the embodiment of the suffrage rally cry of “Deeds not Words,” and this book is the perfect sister volume to their stunning adaptation of the socialist classic The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists.