This is the life story of a trade unionist and politician who worked tirelessly for her community. Grassroots activists such as her are all too often left out of the historical record in favour of national leaders and figures. In this account, the spotlight is on a working-class woman who made a significant impact on the lives of Coventry citizens. Alice Arnold, born in 1881, organised women workers during and after the First World War, became a pioneer woman councillor in Coventry in 1919 and the city’s first woman mayor in 1937. In detailing her campaigning work to improve the lives of men, women and children in Coventry, this book draws attention to the social, economic and political factors that shaped a city in the first decades of the 20^th century.