Bohemia Village Voice

Notable Sussex Women: 580 Biographical Sketches. Helena Wojtczak. 2008. Hastings Press. 304pp. 19.99.

Notable Sussex Women by Helena Wojtczak Reviewed by Bronwyn Pryde.
The author claims that this book exists to commemorate the lives of 580 individuals whose names have never before appeared together in one place. The criterion for inclusion is that each woman included either was born, died or lived for more than two years in Sussex. Ninety five percent of the women featured were born into the middle and upper classes between the turn of the 18th century and the first decades of the 20th century and consist mainly of artists, sportswomen, philanthropists, social workers, reformers, pioneers and professionals. Some of the more famous names include Virginia Woolf, Fanny Cradock and Linda McCartney.
The book is clearly a labour of love as it is packed with biographical information and is produced to a high standard. It is certainly not meant to be read from cover to cover but to be dipped into, much like an encyclopedia. At £20 it is not cheap but it does reflect the amount of work that has gone into it. Notable Sussex  Women:  580 Biographical Sketches. Helena Wojtczak. 2008. Hastings Press. 304pp. £19.99.

Elsie Randolph: music-comedy actress, singer and dancer; one of over 500 notable Sussex women.