Stylist chose Bad Girls as one of its ‘unmissable books to read this spring’. ‘Through the story of its inmates, Davies explores how society has dealt with disobedient women – from suffragettes to refugees to women seeking abortions – for decades, and how they’ve failed to silence those who won’t go down without a fight.’… Continue reading
Category Archives: News, Press Coverage & Reviews
New biography of the Duchess of Sutherland
The Life and Times of Mary, Dowager Duchess of Sutherland, by Catherine Layton, has been released by Cambridge Scholars Publishing. It tells the full story of May Caroline, who in 1893 was imprisoned at Holloway. Catherine, an academic who lives in Australia, is related to May Caroline’s… Continue reading
Arvon non-fiction tutored retreat
I’m thrilled to be a tutor on Arvon’s non-fiction tutored retreat – ‘Finding the heart of your non-fiction story’ – along with Colin Grant and guest speaker Helen Jukes. The retreat runs from November 18th to the 23rd, 2019, at the Hurst in Shropshire. Two types of grants are available to help cover course fees. Continue reading
The Observer reviews Bad Girls
‘Caitlin Davies meticulously records a much-needed and balanced history of this home to ‘royalty and socialites, spies and prostitutes, Nazis and aliens, terrorists and freedom fighters’ and thousands of very ordinary desperate women, many of whom had experienced violence at the hands of men…. Bad Girls is a chronicle (of) the ongoing fight to replace a… Continue reading
Interview with Jackie McGlone in The Sunday Herald
‘A rich, superbly researched, definitive history of Holloway Prison, which closed in 2016, and of the many disobedient, defiant, dangerous women and girls incarcerated there. There are many heartbreaking stories within stories within stories.’ Continue reading
Interview with the Museum of London
‘Prison to Parliament: the Suffragettes and Holloway. Caitlin Davies’ book Bad Girls delves into the history of Holloway, shedding new light on the extraordinary stories of the women imprisoned there, including the Suffragettes’ Read the full interview here Continue reading
The Sunday Times reviews Bad Girls
‘Davies’ absorbing study serves up just enough sensationalism – and eccentricity – along with its serious inquiry. (She) uses the prison as a prism through which to chart changing attitudes to women over the past 164 years – beginning with the Victorian notion of “double deviance”, which suggested that female criminals had broken not only… Continue reading
Holloway Prison and the struggle for the vote, The Islington Tribune
Interview with Emily Finch. ‘Suffragettes made the most of their prison experience – it was a powerfully run PR campaign. The now empty 10-acre Holloway Prison site was once the hub of the women’s suffrage movement.’ Continue reading
London Suffragette Sites in The Guardian
‘Smashed windows, broken rules: the dark suffragette sites of London’. Jo Griffin explores the importance of suffragette sites in London, including the notorious Holloway Prison. More here Continue reading
‘A Ripping Good Read’ – Jeremy Corbyn MP
Jeremy Corbyn, Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition, is MP for Islington North – the borough which is home Holloway Prison ‘Caitlin Davies writes with warmth, empathy and humour about the women – some brave and rebellious – who spent time in Holloway Prison. Assiduously researched, “Bad Girls” documents interweaving struggles… Continue reading
The Bookseller reviews Bad Girls
‘Readable, compelling and illuminating history of HM Prison Holloway and of the women from all walks for life who have been incarcerated there since it was first built as a House of Correction in 1852’, Caroline Sanderson, the Bookseller Continue reading