She Votes: How U.S. Women Won Suffrage, and What Happened Next

Art historian Quinn (Broad Strokes) commemorates the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment in this vibrant and witty chronicle of women’s rights in America. In 19 chapters illustrated by 100 female artists, Quinn profiles leaders of the women’s suffrage and feminist movements, as well as groundbreaking women in the fields of art, politics, sports, and music. She notes that Native American women in upstate New York had property rights and personal agency for centuries before the first women’s rights convention was held at Seneca Falls, N.Y., in 1848, and describes Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony as “the Marx and Engels” of the suffrage movement—”a pair of dangerous plotters cooking up revolution.” Other profile subjects include Mary Cassatt, whose Impressionist paintings of women in domestic scenes were “unlikely incendiaries,” according to Quinn; African-American journalist Ida B. Wells, who pushed back against segregation within the suffrage movement; Title IX legislator Patsy Mink; poet Audre Lorde; and the Guerrilla Girls, who fight for female artists’ representation in male-dominated art galleries. Colorful, attention-grabbing illustrations in a diverse array of styles enhance Quinn’s snappy prose on nearly every page. This soaring movement history has something for neophytes and experts alike. Agent: Danielle Svetcov, Levine Greenberg Rostan Literary Agency. (Aug.)