Ever since Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls was published, there’s been a definite trend in publishing. There are now so many fantastic books about inspirational women from history. I’ve been reading and reviewing a fair few of them for this blog, so I thought it’d be great to compile them all for one master post.
Forgotten Women: The Leaders & The Scientists
Zing Tsjeng
March 2018
Hachette Book Publishers
Forgotten Women is a new series of books that uncover the lost herstories of influential women who have refused over hundreds of years to accept the hand they’ve been dealt and, as a result, have formed, shaped and changed the course of our futures. From leaders and scientists to artists and writers, the fascinating stories of these women that time forgot are now celebrated, putting their achievements firmly back on the map.
Forgotten Women by Zing Tsjeng is a really wonderful new series, allowing readers to discover 96 women who I can guarantee you’ve never heard of before.
Each of these books features 48 incredible women of history, styled with beautiful artwork and colourful layouts. The Leaders is all about women who were true pioneers. They may not have lived long, or they may have been overlooked, but their contributions were important.
Grace O’Malley was a 16th century Irish pirate queen, Sylvia Rivera spearheaded the modern transgender rights movement, and Agent 355 was an unknown rebel spy who played a pivotal role in the American Revolution.
The series is both informative and interesting. I thought I would’ve gotten sick of these types of books, but I’ve found myself just as enthralled and intrigued as ever. In The Leaders, chapters are broken down into different categories, from rebels to warriors, rulers to activists. In The Scientists, the chapters range from Biology & Natural Sciences to Physics & Chemistry.
Each woman is given around three pages of information, so the books are pretty quick to read and the information not too heavy.
In The Scientists, we meet women whose scientific achievements or whose inventions have paved the way for the future, but unfortunately their successes weren’t as acknowledged or praised as highly or as often as they should’ve been.
Ruby Hirose developed a vaccine for polio, Mary Beatrice Davidson Kenner was a brilliant inventor who found ways to improve everyday struggles, and Ynes Mexia was a botanist who discovered 500 new plant species.
Both of these books are packaged beautifully. They’re hardback, with thick, high quality paper and bright colours. They look wonderful together on the shelf, and I hope the series will have more books coming out. I’m sure there are plenty more women out there whose achievements have been sadly forgotten.
SHE: A Celebration of 100 Renegade Women
Harriet Hall
March 2018
Hachette Book Publishers
SHE is a love letter to all the women who have thrown out the rulebook and threatened the status quo. It’s a toast to the brave, bold and brilliant women who make us proud to be ladies.
From fashion icon Coco Chanel to Queen Cleopatra, from literary legend Jane Austen to trailblazer Michelle Obama and from kick-ass activist Malala Yousafzai to the one-and-only Beyoncé, SHE honours 100 truly renegade women, from history through to present day.
SHE by Harriet Hall is a compact book highlighting 100 women from history who contributed to positive change within society. Some of these women have long since passed, but some are still alive today.
What I loved most about this book is that each woman was dedicated only two pages — one page had a black and white sketch illustration of the woman, and the other page detailed their life story. I loved that their story was summarised so succinctly.
YOU CAN READ THE REST OF MY REVIEW HERE
Rebel Voices: The Rise of Votes for Women
Louise Kay Stewart & Eve Lloyd Knight
January 2018
Hachette Publishers
A beautifully illustrated celebration of the brave campaigners who fought for women’s right to vote.
Discover that it was never illegal for women to vote in Ecuador, or how 40,000 Russian women marched through St Petersburg demanding their rights. Find out how one Canadian woman changed opinions with a play, and Kuwaiti women protested via text message. And learn that women climbed mountains, walked a lion through the streets of Paris, and starved themselves, all in the name of having a voice.
Meet the women who rioted, rallied and refused to give up. This book celebrates the women who refused to behave, rebelling against convention to give women everywhere a voice.
Rebel Voices by Louise Kay Stewart and Eve Lloyd Knight is gorgeous and inspiring, educating readers on the history of the female vote and how a woman’s right to vote was achieved in different countries.
This is a hardback book, the size of a portrait picture book. It’s quite large in size, to allow for all the stunning illustrations on every page. The quality is amazing — thick and heavy paper. And there are only 47 pages to this book and there aren’t too many words. So, it doesn’t take long to read.
YOU CAN READ THE REST OF MY REVIEW HERE
100 Nasty Women of History
Hannah Jewell
November 2017
Hachette Book Publishers
These are the women who were deemed too nasty for their times – too nasty to be recognised, too nasty to be paid for their work and sometimes too nasty to be allowed to live.
In 100 Nasty Women of History, Hannah will spill the tea on:
-the women with impressive kill counts
-the women who wrote dangerous things
-the women who fought empires and racists
-the women who knew how to have a good-ass time
-the women who punched Nazis (metaphorically but also not)
So, if you think that Nasty Women are a new thing, think again. They’ve always been around – you just haven’t always heard of them.
Well, this is just hilarious and so so fun to read. 100 Nasty Women of History is all about history’s bravest, most ballsy women. And most of them you’ve probably never heard of!
In the final debate of the 2016 US presidential election, Donald Trump leaned into the microphone as Hilary Clinton spoke about social security, and he called his opponent ‘such a nasty woman’. I’m sure Donald Trump didn’t realise that this phrase would go on to become a badge of honour for women around the world. Being a ‘nasty woman’ is now considered a compliment!
Hannah Jewell is a senior writer for Buzzfeed UK, so she brings into this book her wit and sarcasm. I laughed out loud many times when reading this book, chuckling on public transport to and from work.
YOU CAN READ THE REST OF MY REVIEW HERE
Great book recommendations!
100 Nasty Women of History was already on my TBR, but now I’ve added Forgotten Women too. Seems like an interesting read.
I love this! Another book, which is technically for children, but has a few women I’ve never even heard of, is She Persisted. Looking forward to reading more from you!