Tristan has some good insights about the futility of his Army service in Afghanistan, but still plans on writing a book that would garner the support of the Prince of Wales and capitalize on the fact that he is considered a war hero, vaguely promising some criticism between the lines. The character is there largely as a reminder to Tristan, the hero, that he squandered his Oxford education, as his valet deeply wishes he could have gone to Oxford, an option that was virtually impossible for him. Tristan’s valet is Indian, the only POC in the book and not tangentially related to the Suffrage movement. Yes, this book had a lot of what is my catnip, but there was also unchecked colonialism, cultural appropriation, depiction of the women’s suffrage movement as the sole purview of White women of means, and homophobia.

Ultimately, however, this review is not about what I wanted or hoped a book to be, and is about what a book shows itself to be. I was happy to return to the early years of the women’s suffrage movement in Britain (the backdrop for the series, A League of Extraordinary Women this is the second book) and to have the spotlight shine on an activist heroine, and to enjoy the writing. This is a painful, difficult review to write, as I have to face the uncomfortable truth that I was initially too focused on the book’s glittery bits (amplified by my own excitement around the history of the women’s suffrage movement) to question, deeply or fast enough, its many hurtful messages.Ī Rogue of One’s Own held my attention, and that is to say a lot these days.

A Rogue of One's Own by Evie Dunmore