Voting Day (Fairlight Moderns)

By Clare O'Dea

In February 1959, Switzerland held a referendum on women’s suffrage. The men voted ‘no’.

In this powerful novella, Clare O’Dea explores that day through the eyes of four very different Swiss women. Vreni is a busy farmer’s wife, longing for a break from family life. Her grown-up daughter Margrit is carving out an independent life in Bern, but finds herself trapped in an alarming situation. Esther, a cleaner, is desperate to recover her son who has been taken into care. Beatrice, a hospital administrator, has been throwing herself into the ‘yes’ campaign. The four women’s paths intersect on a day that will leave its mark on all their lives.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Fairlight Books
• Release date: Apr 1, 2022
• ISBN: 9781914148088

Clare O'Dea

Originally from Dublin, Clare O’Dea has lived in Switzerland since 2003. After studying French and Russian at Trinity College Dublin, she had a varied media career in Ireland, with a freelance stint in Russia. Clare worked for the state broadcaster (RTÉ), the Irish Times, Today FM and the Gúna Nua Theatre Company. Her first non-fiction book, The Naked Swiss: A Nation Behind 10 Myths, was published in 2016 by Bergli Books. A second updated edition followed in 2018. Clare turned to Ireland as a subject for her second book, The Naked Irish: Portrait of a Nation Beyond the Clichés.