Kirkus review of Barbara Leigh Smith Bodichon
July 1999
It is extraordinary that Barbara Bodichon is not a better-known figure in British history. Hirsch's totally absorbing biography opens up the life and times of one of the most charismatic women of the 19th century. Her enormous talent, energy and originality helped make her name as a feminist, law-reformer, painter, journalist and educationalist. Born into a strongly political background, she knew 'as much about framing petitions as framing paintings', and she led four major campaigns. Drawing on Bodichon's sketches and paintings as well as her journals and letters, Hirsch has pieced together a brilliant portrait of a vivacious and courageous woman.
