Rohini Hensman

To Do Something Beautiful Rohini Hensman

Inspired by the lives and struggles of working-class women, men and children in Bombay during the 1980s, To Do Something Beautiful was one of the 20 selected titles for Feminist Book Fortnight and went to the top of the Alternative Bestseller List when it was first brought out by Sheba Feminist Publishers in 1990. A social history novel with a large cast of characters, its form mirrors its content as women who are initially isolated come together to fight against poverty, exploitation at work, sexual assault and harassment and domestic violence. There are no generalisations about their relationships with men, some of whom are also fighting for workers' rights, and the relationships between adults and children are also complex and varied. Their multifarious projects do not end with the novel, but continue beyond its last page.

'It has a very fine exploration of relationships between women - very supportive relationships between very poor women in India.'Alice Walker, Hot Wire

'The kind of book which should keep awake socialist economists and activists alike.'Sheila Rowbotham, Z Magazine

'A vast, panoramic novel... in the genre of social history novels, like George Eliot's Middlemarch and Drabble's The Radiant Way.'Rukhsana Ahmad, Spare Rib

'This novel is an absolute must for anyone interested in the personal politics of making gardens out of dunghills; anyone interested in hope!'Helen M. Hintjens, Journal of Gender Studies