Voting Day

Switzerland went to the polls in February 1959 to decide whether women should be granted the vote, and the men of the country said no. Clare O'Dea's novella follows that referendum through four Swiss women whose lives could hardly be more different. Vreni, a farmer's wife with a full household to manage, dreams of time away from her family. Her adult daughter Margrit is building a life of her own in Bern, though she soon finds herself caught in a worrying predicament. Esther works as a cleaner and is fighting to get her son back after he was placed in care. Beatrice, who runs administration at a hospital, has poured her energy into the campaign for a yes vote.

The four women's routes converge on that single day, and its effects will reach each of them.