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Post by dem bones on Jul 16, 2016 22:26:31 GMT
Michael Tanner - The Suffragette Derby (Robson, 2013) Blurb: On Wednesday 4 June 1913, fledgling newsreel cameras captured just over two-and-a-half minutes of never-to-be-forgotten British social and sporting history.
The 250,000 people thronging Epsom Downs carried with them a quartet of combustible elements: a fanatical, publicity-hungry suffragette; a scapegoat for the Titanic disaster and the pillar of the Establishment who bore him a personal grudge; a pair of feuding jockeys at odds over money and glory; and, finally, at the heart of the action, two thoroughbred horses one a vicious savage and one the consummate equine athlete. Taken together, this was a recipe for the most notorious horse race in British history.
One hundred years on, this particular Derby Day is remembered for two reasons: the fatal intervention of Emily Davison, a militant suffragette who brought down the King's runner, and the controversial disqualification of Bower Ismay's horse Craganour on the grounds of rough riding the first and only time a Derby-winner has forfeited its title for this reason. The sensation of Davison's questionable interference in the name of suffrage has overshadowed the outrage of Craganour's disqualification and the intricate reasons behind it. Now, with a view to allowing this scandal the attention it deserves, Michael Tanner replays the most dramatic day in Turf history - and finally uncovers the truth of the Suffragette Derby."Went to Epsom to see the Derby. A most sensational one. The favourite Craganour was disqualified and Agoyeur won. A suffragette ran out near Tattenham Corner and got in front of G's horse Anmer which knocked her down, then fell throwing poor Jones who was much knocked about. The horrid woman was injured but not seriously. Back by 5." - Queen Mary's diary entry. For those - like this reader - who neither know nor care a jot about horse racing, The Suffragette Derby is chiefly notable for a complete absence of sympathy toward Ms. Emily Davison, who it portrays as an attention-seeking loose cannon, actively disliked by several of her colleagues including Emily Pankhurst who, nonetheless, ruthlessly capitalised on her sacrifice. Was Emily's martyrdom deliberate or did she just get lucky? Mr. Tanner doesn't seem particularly fussed either way. In fact, this meticulously researched volume gives the impression that the author will never forgive her for screwing up one of the most controversial Derby finishes of all time. The bulk of the 364 pages are devoted to intrigues and rivalries between rival owners and jockeys, with Ms "probably a lesbian" Davison's intervention seemingly afforded a grudging chapter or two (and misleading back cover photo) purely because she so fatally interfered with an also-ran who just happened to be the King's horse.
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Post by ropardoe on Jul 17, 2016 9:43:52 GMT
There was an excellent documentary on Emily Davison on BBC4, presented by Clare Balding, a few years ago. The conclusion (very well argued) was that Davison probably only intended to pin a suffragette banner to the king's horse. Clearly she knew nothing about the power and speed of a racing horse!
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Post by dem bones on Jul 17, 2016 10:57:53 GMT
There was an excellent documentary on Emily Davison on BBC4, presented by Clare Balding, a few years ago. The conclusion (very well argued) was that Davison probably only intended to pin a suffragette banner to the king's horse. Clearly she knew nothing about the power and speed of a racing horse! Would be very interested to learn Clare Balding's opinion on this book (I think we can take for granted that she will have read it). The Secrets of a Suffragette documentary coincided with publication of The Suffragette Derby, and both Ms. Balding and Mr. Tanner had access to (and based their theories upon) the super-improved footage from three camera angles. The 'banner' explanation seems plausible, but evidently she'd not yet removed it from where it was sewn inside her jacket. Tanner offers that Emily didn't realise it was the King's horse until it was bearing down upon her, whereupon she attempted to grab the bridle. He also suggests she may even have miscalculated the number of runners and was crossing the track to unfurl her flag and raise morale amongst fellow Suffragette's present. Few books on any subject are short on moments of horror, and Mr. Tanner's chapter on the torture these brave women endured in prison when they went on hunger strike makes for a particularly difficult read. |
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Post by ropardoe on Jul 17, 2016 12:02:01 GMT
There was an excellent documentary on Emily Davison on BBC4, presented by Clare Balding, a few years ago. The conclusion (very well argued) was that Davison probably only intended to pin a suffragette banner to the king's horse. Clearly she knew nothing about the power and speed of a racing horse! Few books on any subject are short on moments of horror, and Mr. Tanner's chapter on the torture these brave women endured in prison when they went on hunger strike makes for a particularly difficult read. I'm sure that's true - so much so that I don't think I could face reading it. It's important we shouldn't forget what they did, and what they suffered, though. |
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Post by dem bones on Jul 18, 2016 8:22:08 GMT
I'm sure that's true - so much so that I don't think I could face reading it. It's important we shouldn't forget what they did, and what they suffered, though. Doubtless far more explicit writings on this shameful episode are never further than a mouse-click away, but one grim chapter in a book for racing enthusiasts will do me for the time being. Without wishing to be insensitive, if it's not yet been done, there's surely a good ghost story to be had from events surrounding the 1913 Derby and Faire Emelye's fatal intervention. |
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Post by ripper on Aug 5, 2016 8:45:00 GMT
I have to say that I go along with the accidental death theory for Davison. I expect as it has been said before that she was going to attach a banner to a horse or unfurl a banner, maybe standing in front of the horses and expecting them to swerve around her. Sadly, she cocked up the timing and in her expectation that she wouldn't be run down. I wonder if she knew that film cameras were there? If so, maybe that would have spurred her on to do what she did. A film record of her standing in front of the horses, banner unfurled, while they swerved around her would have been great publicity for her cause, only, tragically, it didn't go as she expected.
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