Ladies of Influence

In the 1920s when the franchise was extended to put women in Britain on an equal electoral footing with men, it was still to be many years before women held positions of real power in their own right. But other channels of influence had always been open to some - those women of the social and political elite. Because of their class background, wealth and connections, such women were free of many of the restrictions placed on their sex. Indeed, they were more powerful in many ways than most men. Ladies of influence tells the stories of seven of these women and of their particular impact an Britain between the wars.All seven occupied the highest stratum of social and political life, through birth and marriage, and all of them sought to influence public life. Some relied on traditional channels, while others took up the challenge of the new political reality for women.