The figure Issy Rhealm, mentioned in passing by Minerva, was inspired by Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1806-1859), inventor and designer of the Great Western Railway and one of the great industrialists of the nineteenth century.
Edwina Cogspeare is, if nothing else, a staunch suffragette. Historically in the British Isles, only noblemen could participate in the government. With the Reform Act of 1832, this was extended to all men who owned a certain amount of property, and was further extended to all men by 1884. From 1866, the increasingly-cohesive female suffrage, or suffragette, movement pushed for women’s rights, which they saw embodied by the right to vote. In 1872, the movement became united with the formation of the National Society for Women’s Suffrage. But by 1905, frustrated by their lack of progress, the female protestors became more militant; vandalism and violent demonstrations were some of their tactics, for which they were harshly punished. Many women were imprisoned under horrendous conditions, and when many when on hunger strikes, they were brutally force-fed. Emmeline (1857-1928) and Christabel Pankhurst (1880-1958) are the two most well-known British suffragettes, but there were thousands of others who worked tirelessly for women’s suffrage, which was finally extended to women over the age of 30 in 1918, which was extended to all women ten years later.
Magnus’s new job is very much in keeping with the times as well. The body that is now in charge of public prosecutions is the Crown Prosecutor’s Office. Though a bailiff has worked on behalf of the monarch since the Middle Ages, the first prosecutor to work on behalf of the public was Sir John Maule. He was made the first Director of Public Prosecutions in 1880, working under the auspices of the Home Office. Though it was a step in the right direction, the powers of the Public Prosecutions remained very limited and second to that of the police force well into the twentieth century.
By the final chapter, Minerva is well on her way to becoming the first female barrister in Cogspearian London. In reality, it took another forty years for the first woman to be called to the bar. This was due in great part to the fact that, while women could attend some university classes, they were not granted university degrees equal to men until 1920. Two years later, Dr. Ivy Williams (1877-1966) became the first female barrister in the UK.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1:
Chapter 2:
Chapter 3:
Chapter 4:
Chapter 5:
Chapter 6:
Chapter 7:
Chapter 8:
Chapter 9:
Chapter 10:
Chapter 11:
Chapter 12:
Chapter 13
Chapter 14:
Chapter 15:
Chapter 16:
Chapter 17:
Chapter 18:
Chapter 19:
Chapter 20:
Chapter 21:
Chapter 22:
Chapter 23:
Chapter 24:
Chapter 25:
Chapter 26:
Chapter 27:
Chapter 28:
Chapter 29:
Chapter 30:
Chapter 31:
Chapter 32:
Chapter 32:
Chapter 33:
Chapter 34:
Chapter 35:
Chapter 36:
Chapter 37:
Chapter 38:
Chapter 39:
Chapter 40:
Chapter 41:
Chapter 42
Chapter 43:
Chapter 44:
Chapter 45:
Chapter 46:
Chapter 47:
Chapter 48:
Chapter 49
Chapter 50:
Chapter 51:
Chapter 52:
Chapter 53:
Chapter 54:
Chapter 55:
Chapter 56:
Chapter 57
Chapter 58:
Chapter 59:
Chapter 60:
Chapter 61:
Chapter 62:
Chapter 63:
Chapter 64:
Chapter 65:
Chapter 66:
Chapter 68:
Chapter 69:
Chapter 70:
Chapter 71:
Chapter 72:
Chapter 73:
Chapter 74:
Chapter 75:
The Cogspeare Conspiracy (The Cogspeare Chronicles Book 1) Page 23
