Girls' Empire

Book excerpt: For a girl these days, it may be fashionable to know how to encrypt text messages, design a webpage, and compile the ultimate playlist. But what about the things that really matter, the sort of things that mattered to girls back in 1903: how to get the best out of your carrier pigeon, how to avoid the evils of excessive tea drinking, and the pros and cons of cycling in a full-length skirt? The Girls' Empire, written at the dawn of the 20th century when the suffragette movement was in full swing, is a wonderfully evocative slice of history. With a mission to entertain, instruct, and inspire, it contains moral guidance, health tips, career advice, and much more. This new edition will prove amusing and poignant for modern readers, and many of its observations remain reassuringly relevant today.