First performed in 1908, How the Vote Was Won is a one act play by actress Cicely Hamilton and Christopher St. John. Set in England during the early 18th century, How the Vote Was Won uses comedy to tell a story in support of women's suffrage. In this one act the English government tells its people that women do not need to worry about having the right to vote because the men will be in charge of taking care of them. This was part of the ridiculous idea held by the United Kingdom, and the world at the time. Women were held under the authority of their husbands, and would be solely supported by them. This allowed them no place in politics and took away their autonomy. The play stars Horace, an anti-suffragist, who is confronted by many of his female relatives demanding that he start supporting them since they have no rights. Many of these women formally held jobs, financially supporting themselves but have quit in protest and support of the movement for women to have voting rights, the same as men. Now, Horace is forced to either support each of these women, practicing what he preaches, or admit to his hypocritical beliefs. Written by two of the most notable champions in literature for women's rights in the United Kingdom, How the Vote Was Won by Cecily Hamilton and Christopher St. John served as a clever and humorous way to address the inequalities women suffered. Today, the work of these two passionate activists still provides an accurate portrayal of the political landscape they lived in. This edition of How the Vote Was Won by Cecily Hamilton and Christopher St. John features an eye-catching new cover design and is presented in a font that is both modern and readable. With these accommodations, this edition is accessible and appealing to contemporary audiences, restoring How the Vote Was Won to modern standards while preserving the clever comedy and impact of the work of Cecily Hamilton and Christopher St. John.

Give up your foolish plan. If not you die." When elderly Queen Hanna of Iconia discovers the anonymous letter in her dress pocket, she knows someone in her household is spying on her. The queen is secretly planning a ceremony of atonement that she hopes will secure the royal succession. Journalist Charles Venables is asked to help identify the spy before her next public appearance. But when Queen Hanna is strangled with a museum relic known as the 'Curse of the Herzgovins', Venables knows an all too human hand is involved. But how was the murderer able to enter the queen's heavily guarded chamber? And why was the body found wearing the royal ceremonial robes rather than the clothes she had retired in? Many Golden Age books have a plot involving an imaginary European kingdom, inspired by 'Ruritania', the setting for the 1894 bestseller The Prisoner of Zenda. Ruritania became the basis for hundreds of imitations (Lutha, Graustark, and Riechentenburg to name but a few) as well as parodies - the Marx Brothers' film, Duck Soup, features Groucho as the dictator of mythical Freedonia. The Ruritanian setting was so broadly known that the author refutes it directly in Death of a Queen. When Venables complains 'This place sounds dreadfully like Ruritania', his colleague replies 'There's nothing Ruritanian about Queen Hanna.' Author Christopher St John Sprigg was a polymath who read widely across history, politics, and culture, and he put this knowledge to good use in Death of a Queen, devising Iconian history, heritage and architecture with an enthusiasm and realism that add to the book's appeal.

"Three hundred years ago, Lord Carpenter, I'd have had your head on a spike on Tower Hill.." It is 1938 and newspaper chief Lord Carpenter is about to publish a front-page story that will guarantee war with Russia. But before the paper can go to print, he is found stabbed in his office, and circumstances suggest the killer is one of his staff. Everyone from the editor-in-chief to the staff librarian had the opportunity. But was the motivation for the murder political or personal? Crime reporter Charles Venables finds himself both suspect and sleuth as he tries to disentangle the clues and determine which of his colleagues is the guilty party. Red herrings abound, but it soon becomes apparent that more than one person had a reason to want Carpenter dead.... Fatality in Fleet Street displays the author's trademark wit and a plot with plenty of twists and ingenuity to please the reader. Equally interesting are the political overtones and the militaristic pretensions of the deceased newspaper baron. The novel is set in 1938 - five years later than its real publication date - and presents a Russia whose economy is growing, which makes the country 'a real menace to the established order of things' in Carpenter's worldview. Although the imperious newspaper baron meets his demise early on, his outsized personality and ambition are the bedrock that propels the story. Sprigg makes his satire clear; there is more than a passing resemblance between the fictional Lord Carpenter and the real world Max Aitken, Lord Beaverbrook, owner of the Evening Standard and Daily Express. Sprigg started his career as a cub reporter and the book's setting of a busy newspaper is well realised. Fatality also takes a sardonic view of socialist activity in Britain. When Venables goes to investigate a local chapter of the Communist Party, the situation is alternately threatening and farcical, with members parading their revolutionary credentials and loudly denouncing the 'bourgeois'. Sprigg later became an active member of the Communist Party and published Marxist literary criticism, but his gently mocking tone in Fatality suggests this conversion was some way off in 1933.

"Good God, you don't think it was an accident?" Wealthy industrialist Anthony Mullins is found dead in a garage fire with the door locked. The locals assume it was an accident or perhaps suicide. But when the autopsy reveals a bullet wound to Mullins' head and no revolver is found, a murder investigation ensues. Was the killer his disgraced nephew Holliday, rumoured to be overly close to his wife? Or Patricia Mullins herself, whose inheritance relied on her husband's death from natural causes? Or friend James Constant, who's research society is the beneficiary of Mullins' unusual will? It soon becomes apparent that everyone, including the victim, has something to hide. Good-natured Police Constable Sadler and Inspector Trenton, are alternatively assisted and hampered by the efforts of the local residents to find the killer. At first, everyone appears to have a perfect alibi, but the more Sadler and Trenton probe, the murkier the picture becomes. Fortunately, journalist Charles Venables is on hand to help make sense of the conflicting and confusing evidence. This classic detective novel from the 1930s is now back in print.

Unheard of for decades, a thrilling new edition of this ultra-rare classic From the original cover:

"It is the year 1937, and Lord Carpenter, Governing Director of Affiliated Publications, decides, against the wishes of the Premier and the opinion of the entire staff of the Mercury, that it is time to declare war on Russia. So powerful is he that only his death can frustrate this fatal policy. How this dreadful disaster is averted by his murder, and how, after many false clues and suspects, the guilty person is finally arrested, makes this book one of unusual interest to all mystery readers. It is impossible to give in a few words its tremendous scope, with a most ingenious and involved plot carried out by animate characters, drawn with great and psychological insight. An exciting and absorbing book which, once started, it is impossible to put down again before it is finished." Christopher St. John Sprigg wrote seven detective novels before his death, over 75 years ago at the age of 29, fighting in the Spanish Civil War. Of these, Fatality in Fleet Street is the most sought-after, and one of the rarest Golden Age detective novels. Oleander is delighted to have made this brilliant, complex and entertaining tale of politics, murder, deception and power back into circulation and available to mystery and crime fans around the world.

LONDON BOUND - A series of classic crime novels, largely from the Golden Age of detective fiction, faithfully transcribed, re-set and reprinted by Oleander under the series name London Bound - owing, unsurprisingly, to their all being set in the nation's capital. The Series Editor, Richard Reynolds, is Chair of CWA Gold Dagger judging panel and crime specialist at the world-famous Heffers Bookshop in Cambridge. Period-style covers for each, whilst honouring the original, have been designed from scratch by Ayshea Carter, designer at the Fitzwilliam Museum.

"How many times have I told you that we must appear to run this hotel as commercial proposition?" Newly arrived in London, journalist Charles Venables has been invited by his friend Viola to stay - at least temporarily - at a residential hotel in Kensington. But there is something amiss at the genteel Garden Hotel. The prices are far too low. The residents are jittery and upset. On arriving, Charles overhears a threatening discussion between the proprietors Mr & Mrs Budge that suggests they are blackmailing some tenants. When the bedridden Mrs Budge disappears into thin air, it is clear that more than one inhabitant of the hotel has something to hide. Is it Egyptian medical student Eppiloki who believes Charles is working undercover? The elderly Miss Geranium who receives messages from the prophet Ezekial, the fanatical Reverend Septimus Blood, or the cat-loving Miss Mumby? Soon, a set of gruesome discoveries point to murder, and Charles must work with Detective Inspector Bray of Scotland Yard to prevent the killer from acting again. Crime combines an intricate plot with an appealing sense of humour and ironic tone: "Viola had two passions in her life, her art and her bridge. Charles had hoped to be a third but he was beginning to abandon hope. He felt that while he might make her a satisfactory partner in life, he would certainly let her down at bridge." Long out of print, we are delighted to reissue Crime in Kensington with a new introduction.

The Methuen Drama Book of Suffrage Plays is an anthology of eight exciting pieces written for and by members of the Actresses Franchise League from 1909-13. Immediately playable, they offer strong, varied roles for female casts, while also providing invaluable source material to students and scholars from a wide range of disciplines. Featuring 'How The Vote Was Won' which remains one of the most popular and well known suffrage plays, the volume also includes seven shorter works: 'Lady Geraldine's Speech' (1909), a fantastic, fun piece for actresses. Lady Geraldine hasn't thought through the Suffrage cause and, on a visit to an old school friend meets some charismatic, successful and intelligent women who soon enlighten and encourage her on to the right path! 'Pot and Kettle' (1909), a comic piece in which a young woman returns to her family in great distress having assaulted a suffragette who was sitting near her at a Anti-Suffragist meeting. 'Miss Appleyard's Awakening' about an anti-suffrage campaigner who finds herself in the home of a sympathizer but ends up inadvertently drawing her hostesses' attention to the contradictions in her arguments 'Her Vote' by the actor and playwright Henry Esmond which provides an interesting male viewpoint on the movement, criticizing the young suffragist for wanting to be part of a movement about which she seems to understand little. 'The Anti-Suffragist or The Other Side', a charming, clever monologue about a sheltered young woman who finds herself increasingly involved with her local Anti-Suffrage society and increasingly puzzled by what she learns there. 'The Mother's Meeting', an entertaining monologue that uses a working class character to expose the inconsistencies in the Anti-Suffrage arguments. 'Tradition' was first performed at a matinee for the Woman Suffrage Party held at the Berkeley Theatre in New York City on Saturday 24 January 1913. The plays featured articulate the arguments of the Suffrage Movement through a variety of styles, both comic and serious, and perfectly illustrate the use of drama as a medium for social change and entertainment. Together with illustrations and an introduction charting the history of the Actresses Franchise League and exploring the context and provenance of the plays, this is an excellent resource for both study and performance.