With All Her Might
the Life of Gertrude Harding, Militant Suffragette
published by:
Goose Lane, 1996, Canada
Holmes & Meier, 1998, USA
Txalaparta, 1999, Spain
Author Gretchen [Wilson] Kelbaugh:
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Auntie Gert, born in 1889, died in 1977, when I was 21. Little did I know what effect reading her memoirs years later would have on me and my professional life. This biography came out in 1994; my feature documentary on politics and women premiered in 2007; and my award-winning screenplay and a new musical have yet to be produced.
The biography includes Gert's simple sketches and memoirs, from her spirited childhood on a dairy farm in New Brunswick, Canada to two idyllic years in Hawaii, as companion to her sister, and eight tumultuous years in London, from militancy to a munitions factory during the WW1.
Along with her own photographs, there is a hand-written press release given to Gert by Mrs Emmeline Pankhurst, who started the movement that became the militant suffragettes of Great Britain.
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1n 1912, Gert's sister invites her to London.
Within weeks, she seized the opportunity to join the world’s most radical group of women fighting for a woman’s cause, the WSPU, and to do so at the very height of its militancy. Its members were dubbed ‘suffragettes’ by the press.
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Gert’s first big job was to stage a midnight attack on rare orchids at Kew Gardens. Later, she worked on the underground newspaper, The Suffragette; she was private secretary to Christabel Pankhurst, the brains of the organization; and she headed up the secret bodyguard of women assigned to protect their leader, Mrs Emmeline Pankhurst, from constant rearrest by Scotland Yard.
After the partial vote was won in 1918, Gert spent the rest of her life in New Jersey as an early Social Worker and social activist. She died in Rothesay, New Brunswick, back with family.
This was a movement without precedent, yet it continues to be treated without prestige. At seven, all I wanted was the intrigue. Auntie Gert was seventy-four and tired. At seventeen, I bragged with clumsy questions about women's lib. She wouldn't commit herself and hardly spoke. At thirty-seven, I felt that I knew what she wished I had asked.
Critical Acclaim
"The next time you hear a woman apologetically say, 'I'm a feminist, but...', give her this book. Feminists are no longer arrested, pelted with rotten fruit or incited to blow up public monuments. For that, thank women like Gert Harding."
Heather Robertson, The Globe and Mail
"Most intriguing is the juxtaposition of Harding's personal perspective with Wilson's concise, clearly written history of women's increasingly desperate, unprecedented push for the vote in Great Britain.
Publishers Weekly
"Wilson's first book, from one of Canada's oldest small presses, deserves a standing ovation."
The Ottawa Citizen
"Wilson has written a good book about the life and times of Gertrude Harding...Wilson has employed a clever technique in presenting Gertrude Harding's own memoirs, which permits Gertrude to tell her own story, so far as possible. Extensive quotation from other major figures is also effective: it completes the reader's understanding of Gertrude Harding."
Gillian Thompson, "The New Brunswick Reader"
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"Sometimes it seems as if all the good stories have been told. The recent biography of Gertrude Harding...proves, however, that our past still holds many narrative treasures."
Atlantic Books Today
"An excellent biography.... Harding's own writing is lively and full of humour; Wilson manages to fill in the historical context without ever losing sight of the flow of the narrative."
Maria Kubacki's "Top 10 Books; Some of the best are right here in Canada"
"With All Her Might is a fascinating story and Gert Harding is a fascinating heroine."
The Daily Gleaner
"With All Her Might is far from just another feminist biography. For readers wanting to expand their knowledge of 20th century politics and social history, it's a great read and a keeper as an excellent reference book."
The Chronical-Herald/The Mail-Star
Lollipopsicles
multiple-award-winning
children's book
written by Gretchen Kelbaugh
illustrated by J.O. Pennanen
Awards
1. Before publication, the poems won First in Children's Literature in the Writers' Federation of New Brunswick competition, 1993.
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2. Book chosen by the New Brunswick Provincial Committee of Born to Read, 2000
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3. Book chosen by the Canadian Children's Book Centre, 2003:
Each year the CCBC publishes Best Books for Kids and Teens (formerly 'Choice' winners). In 2003 Lollipopsicles shared this honour with only four other books of poetry, including ones by Robert Louis Stevenson and Dennis Lee.
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"Whether you're stocking a bookshelf in a classroom, library or at home, every title in this guide has been given the Canadian Children's Book Centre's stamp of approval...Expert committees of educators, booksellers, school and public librarians from across Canada have handpicked the [winners]. Committees look for excellence in writing, illustration or performance. Most importantly, these committees focus on selecting materials that will appeal to children and young adults."
- excerpted from Canadian Children's Book Centre website
Endorsements
"This poet has the wonderful ability to access the mind of a child, while using the structural and poetic techniques of a mature writer of great talent."
- Welwyn Wilton Katz, winner of the Governor General's Award for Children's Literature
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"Technically perfect nonsense, tongue-twisting of lipslippery fun. Lollipopsicles will entertain and celebrate the delicious of language."
- Sheree Fitch
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Resource Links: Connecting Classrooms, Libraries & Canadian Learning Resources. Rating: E (excellent, enduring, everyone should see it!).
Critical Acclaim
"The poems are imaginative and delightful, while using language in interesting ways and having a sound poetic structure the poems need to bring them to life." Resource Links "These verses are deliciously illustrated by JO Pennanen -- and remind us where our addiction to words and stories first began." - Saltscapes: canada's east coast magazine "earthy, tongue-pleasing poems" - The New Brunswick Reader "Rhythmic rhymes about monsters, kittens, toys, games and lollipops have all escaped from Gretchen Kelbaugh's imagination and combined with JO Pennanen's fanciful illustrations to make a delightful verbal romp, reminiscent of Dennis Lee, as well as Sheree Fitch." - Atlantic Books Today "...bright and imaginative illustrations are sure to attract any youngster." - Times & Transcript "Quispamsis authro's poetry will delight children of all ages." - this week
The Centre for Addictions and Mental Health in Toronto commissioned Gretchen to write two books for children incorporating information from specialists in the fields of addictions and counselling.
Can I Catch it Like a Cold?
a story to help children understand a parent's depression
Wishes and Worries
coping with a parent who drinks too much alcohol
The Town of Rothesay, New Brunswick, Canada commissioned Gretchen Kelbaugh and Jude Carson to co-write the town's history.
Available for purchase at
the Town of Rothesay