Women Writers on Women in History
March is Women's History Month—so what better time to delve into the past and read about women who have impacted our world, all in books researched and written by women. From empresses to activists, pioneering scientists to secret spies, these 10 titles highlight remarkable women and their stories.
In the Shadow of the Empress: The Defiant Lives of Maria Theresa, Mother of Marie Antoinette, and Her Daughters
by Nancy Goldstone
Follow the sprawling saga of Empress Maria Theresa—one of the most renowned women rulers in history—and three of her extraordinary daughters, including Marie Antoinette, the doomed queen of France.
Jane Crow: The Life of Pauli Murray
by Rosalind Rosenberg
This biography tracks the life of African American activist and lawyer Pauli Murray, who played pivotal roles in both the modern civil rights and women's movements, all while struggling with the issue of her own gender identity.
Never Caught: The Washingtons' Relentless Pursuit of Their Runaway Slave, Ona Judge
by Erica Armstrong Dunbar
This is the true story of Ona Judge, George and Martha Washington’s runaway slave who risked everything to escape the nation’s capital and reach freedom and the first family's relentless pursuit of her.
The Glass Universe: How the Ladies of the Harvard Observatory Took the Measure of the Stars
by Dava Sobel
Dive into the little-known true story of the unexpected and remarkable contributions to astronomy made by a group of women working in the Harvard College Observatory from the late 1800s through the mid-1900s.
The Light of Days: The Untold Story of Women Resistance Fighters in Hitler's Ghettos
by Judith Batalion
Shares the stories of the courageous women who risked their lives to work against the Nazis as fighters, intelligence agents, and saboteurs.
The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women
by Kate Moore
Recounts the struggles of hundreds of women who were exposed to radium while working factory jobs during World War I, describing how they were misled by their employers and became embroiled in a battle for workers' rights.
Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments: Intimate Histories of Riotous Black Girls, Troublesome Women, and Queer Radicals
by Saidiya Hartman
Explore the evolution of the lives of young Black women living in Philadelphia and New York in the early 20th century.
Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China
by Jung Chang
A Chinese woman chronicles the struggle of her grandmother, her mother, and herself to survive in a China torn apart by wars, invasions, revolution, and continuing upheaval.
Witches, Midwives, and Nurses: A History of Women Healers
by Barbara Ehrenreich
Examines how women-led healing was delegitimized to make way for patriarchy, capitalism, and the emerging medical industry.
A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of the American Spy who Helped Win WWII
by Sonia Purnell
Virginia Hall was the first Allied woman deployed behind enemy lines and she helped to light the flame of the French Resistance, revolutionizing secret warfare as we know it.
Have trouble reading standard print? Many of these titles are available in formats for patrons with print disabilities.
Summaries provided are adapted via NYPL’s catalog, which draws from multiple sources. Click through to each book’s title for more.