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'A biography of Australian Muriel Matters is long overdue and Robert Wainwright’s book leaves us in no doubt that Miss Muriel does indeed matter. She was involved prominently in the British suffrage movement, flying in a hot air balloon to drop pamphlets over London and chaining herself to the grille in British parliament, becoming the first woman to give a speech, albeit uninvited, in the chamber. She also toured the English provinces in a horse-drawn caravan speaking to welcoming and unwelcoming audiences on behalf of the Women’s Freedom League. These spectacular exploits, however, are barely known in Australia, and her more serious achievements have been lost entirely. Muriel Matters, as Wainwright’s book reveals, was not just a suffrage activist. She also involved herself in child welfare, joining Sylvia Pankhurst at the Mothers’ Arms in the East End. Matters trained with Maria Montessori in Europe and was a pioneer of the Montessori education system in London.' (Introduction)
