Women

THE WORLD THROUGH A FEMINIST LENSFor Nivedita Menon, feminism is not about a moment of final triumph over patriarchy but about the gradual transformation of the social field so decisively that old markers shift forever. From sexual harassment charges against international figures to the...

A savage indictment of religious extremism and man's inhumanity to man, Lajja was banned in Bangladesh but became a bestseller in the rest of the world. This brand-new translation marks the twentieth anniversary of this controversial novel. The Dattas Sudhamoy and Kironmoyee and their children...

This riveting narrative explores the lives of six remarkable female pharaohs, from Hatshepsut to Cleopatra - women who ruled with real power - and shines a piercing light on our own perceptions of women in power today....

Sita, the beloved princess of Mithila, is one of the most revered women in Indian history; so well known, yet probably the least understood. At every crossroad of her life, she chose acceptance and grace over self-pity. Her life was filled with sacrifice yet wherever she was, there was abundance...

Marie Sklodowska Curie (1867–1934) was the first woman scientist to win worldwide acclaim and was, indeed, one of the great scientists of the twentieth century.

The Manipuri writer Binodini's Sahitya Akademi Award-winning historical novel The Princess and the Political Agent tells the love story of her aunt Princess Sanatombi and Lt. Col. Henry P. Maxwell, the British representative in the subjugated Tibeto-Burman kingdom of Manipur. A poignant story of...

From breasts and orgasms to periods, pregnancies, and menopause—A Brief History of the Female Body is a fascinating science book explaining the mysteries of the female body through an evolutionary lens....

Women have always gardened, but our stories have been buried with our work....

From the best-selling author of The Radium Girls comes another dark and dramatic but ultimately uplifting tale of a forgotten woman whose inspirational journey sparked lasting change for women’s rights and exposed injustices that still resonate today....

In How to Think Like a Woman, Penaluna blends memoir, biography, and criticism to tell the stories of four women, weaving throughout an alternative history of philosophy. This is a moving meditation on what philosophy could look like if women were treated equally....

The Jesus Family Tomb tells the story of what may be the greatest archaeological find of all time—the discovery of the family tomb of Jesus of Nazareth The Jesus Family Tomb includes: A gripping real-life detective story that combines history, archaeology and cutting-edge science, and reveals...

Jonathan Clements weighs the evidence of Empress Wu Zetian's life and legacy: so charismatic that she could rise from nothing to the height of medieval power, so hated that her own children left her tombstone blank.

Author Hawon Jung illuminates the strength and tenacity of trailblazing South Korea women who have taken to the streets, and takes the listener into the trenches of the fight for gender equality....

The definitive edition of the classic, myth-shattering history of the American family Leave It to Beaver was not a documentary, a man's home has never been his castle, the "male breadwinner marriage" is the least traditional family in history, and rape and sexual assault were far higher in the...

A scientific journey to the center of the new female body....

Nawal El Saadawi writes out of a powerful sense of the violence which permeated her society. Her experiences working as a doctor in villages around Egypt, witnessing prostitution, honour killings and sexual abuse, including female circumcision, drove her to give voice to this suffering.

Have your sense of art history overturned and your eyes opened to many artforms often ignored or dismissed. From the Cornish coast to Manhattan, Nigeria to Japan, this is the history of art as it's never been told before....

For fans of provocative history and Game of Thrones alike, this revisionist narrative reveals how the little-known women of the Viking era shaped their world.

There was a time when women’s health was repressed and breast cancer wasn’t discussed, but Shirley Temple Black, Rose Kushner, and Evelyn Lauder refused to be silenced. Their courage ignited a movement that changed the way society addresses breast cancer.

Through raw and compelling testimonies from both sides of the community, Dillon explores the overlooked perspectives of women whose lives were impacted by the brutal conflict.

From a Black philosopher and the author of The Politics of Black Joy, an epic retelling of American history from slavery to Jim Crow from the perspective of the Black women who used magic and spirituality to gain freedom and reshape the culture of the nation. The Conjuring of America tells the...

Who says women don’t go to war? From Vikings and African queens to cross-dressing military doctors and WWII Russian fighter pilots, these are the stories of women for whom battle was not a metaphor. The woman warrior is always cast as an anomaly—Joan of Arc, not GI Jane. But women, it turns...

“A lost world, man-eating tribesmen, lush andimpenetrable jungles, stranded American fliers (one of them a dame withgreat gams, for heaven's sake), a startling rescue mission. . . . This is atrue story made in heaven for a writer as talented as Mitchell Zuckoff. Whew—what an utterly...

The incredible true story of Ana Montes, the most damaging female spy in US history, drawing upon never-before-seen material and to be published upon her release from prison, for readers of Agent Sonya and A Woman of No Importance. Just days after the 9-11 attacks, a senior Pentagon analyst...

Named a Most Anticipated Book by Bustle, Esquire, Nylon, and The Millions “Intimate, thoughtful, and accessible to anyone struggling with the persistent, maddening inequities of contemporary sex.” –Rebecca Traister, New York Times bestselling author of Good and Mad From Teen Vogue sex and...

This book offers a comprehensive, human, and well-documented journey through the life and legacy of Joan of Arc, from her childhood in Domrémy and the emergence of her "voices", to the Loire campaigns, the coronation of Charles VII, the trial in Rouen, and the stake.

Grand houses can be found across the countryside of England and Wales. From the Stuart and Georgian periods to the Edwardian and Victorian, these buildings were once home to the aristocratic families of the nation. But what was life like for the mistresses of these great houses? How much power and influence did they really have?

AV on History: Amelia Earhart presents her disappearance as it was experienced at the time—through official reports, radio transmissions, press coverage, and the historical record as it stands today. This is not a biographical tribute, nor a speculative true-crime retelling. It is a documented investigation into what was known, what was reported, and where the record ultimately ends.

The biography of Sylvia Moy, Motown’s first certified female in-house producer and songwriter, and one of the authors behind classic hits like “My Cherie Amour,” “Uptight (Everything’s Alright),” and a slew of other time-honored tunes. Imagine a world without the music of Stevie...

The book spans millennia, tracing the impact of trailblazing women in technology. In early chapters, meet historical figures from the first century to the early 1800s, whose contributions laid the groundwork for today's advancements. Dive into stories of mixed digital artist Thea Baumann, actress and inventor Hedy Lamarr, and pioneering programmer Betty Snyder alongside virtual reality specialist Claire Blackshaw. Discover modern innovators like Kayleigh Oliver, a woman of color waving the flag for programming all whilst balancing motherhood and tech.

Written in the early 20th century, Henry W. Shoemaker’s historical address and biographical sketches move beyond fame and rank to honor women whose lives were defined by endurance, service, and moral resolve. From the Pennsylvania frontier to the Revolutionary War and the Civil War, these narratives illuminate acts of quiet heroism carried out in cabins, villages, battlefields, and along the edges of recorded history.

Did you know that women occupy only 0.5 per cent of the historical record? Diving into the lives of queens, witches, b---hes and It Girls throughout the ages–from Cleopatra, Marie Antoinette and Mata Hari to the British PM’s secret weapon: Pamela Churchill Harriman–this is a fabulously illustrated compendium of those women (from the well known to the more obscure) who broke boundaries, rules and occasionally limbs, to carve out their place in the male-dominated history books.

Written in engaging prose with all the intrigue and suspense of a detective tale, Alias Agnes chronicles the lives of women at the cusp of the twentieth century—the opportunities that beckoned them and the challenges that thwarted their dreams.

From the adolescent thrill of getting a driver's license to the dreaded commutes of adulthood, from vintage muscle cars to electric vehicles, this groundbreaking audiobook reveals the outsized impact the car has had—and will continue to have—on the lives of women.

Urania Cottage was a charitable home established in the late 1840s by Charles Dickens and the philanthropist Angela Burdett-Coutts. Located in Shepherd’s Bush, west London, it was created to provide a fresh start for women who had been involved in prostitution or petty crime. Dickens, deeply concerned with social reform, personally helped to design and manage the program, reviewing applications, writing admission rules, and keeping detailed reports on the women’s progress.