World-Changing Women: 150 Women who Rewrote the Histories of Ancient Egypt, Israel, Greece and Rome

by Paul Chrystal

Highlights 150 influential women from pre-classical civilizations, ancient Egypt, and Israel, reshaping history by defying patriarchal norms.

Countless books have been written about prominent women in Greece and Rome, so we know all about Medea, Sappho, Lucretia, Boudica and Cleopatra and their significant actions and achievements. This book extends the invaluable story of women in early history to pre-classical civilizations, ancient Egypt and Israel to include prominent women in those civilizations as well, thus introducing them, and their roles and places in their respective societies and social histories, to a wide audience.

The aim of this book is to demonstrate how 150 women (most little known) significantly influenced, informed and changed the worlds in which they lived. We show how a small, disparate body of women in each of these periods, united by their determination and strength of mind, were able to break free from the norms and values of the patriarchal societies which confined and restricted them to make a valuable difference to their individual societies, cultures, politics and foreign policies; in so doing they have changed perceptions of women and the role women were subsequently allowed to play. Some of the women are well known, others less so. The book reinforces the reputations of those who have endured popularity over the centuries and, where necessary, realigns those reputations after years of prejudice and the vicissitudes of sexism, misogyny, Hollywood and sensationalist literature. For those who have been written out of mainstream history and relegated to footnotes at best, this is a chance to re-introduce them and the impact they have made on their and our world. Their relative anonymity does not mean that they are less important - on the contrary, they are equally significant and the more we know about them, the better if we want a rounded picture of the civilizations to which they contributed so much.

Each chapter is followed by suggestions for further reading to encourage further research.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

224 pages, Hardcover

Published February 13, 2025

About the author

Paul Chrystal attended the Universities of Hull and Southampton where he took degrees in Classics. For the next thirty-five years he worked in medical publishing, much of the time as an international sales director for one market or another while latterly creating medical educational programmes for the pharmaceutical industry. He worked for companies such as Churchill Livingstone, Wiley-Blackwell, CRC Press, Academic Press and Elsevier.

Reviews

[Melisende · Rating 2 out of 5]

A collection of easy to read vignettes from the pre-classical world covering Israel, Greece, Rome, Egypt, Sumer and the Bible (roughly 24 BCE to 565 CE). The entries read like blog posts or wiki articles; they are conversational not academic; the entries are merely to ignite further research. In fact, much can already be found on the internet and in other tomes - these profiles are merely selectively chosen and gathered in one place.

However, it is unfortunate the author / publisher went with the title "world changing" - the title is rather bombastic as very few of the chosen ones changed or re-wrote anything at all. And that for me is where my engagement waned considerably.

[Angie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley and Pen & Sword for an Advanced Reader Copy - pub date 11/30/2024. I have to admit that this book was both more and less of what I expected and hoped for. If you are looking for a breezily written collection of snippets about accomplished women that you can read in between errands or when you need a giggle, this is not it. It is closer to Sherlock Holmes' Who's Who Book - a very comprehensive list of women in ancient Egypt, Israel, Greece, and Rome - bare facts, not really any embellishment, just treating these extraordinary lives as simple reality. Which, to be fair, some of these little known ladies don't have extensive records but all deserve a nod and respect. There is no honest way to expand some of these entries without edging into fiction. Chrystal has compiled a very impressive list, kept to the known details, and provided a very thorough bibliography for further reading. It is quite a feat and interesting. However, it is not a chatty book and the only color is presented by the women themselves; Chrystal keeps it strictly to the straight-forward. Frankly, the cover is the most poetic thing about the book. That is not bad, of course. It is good to have such a list in one place and I learned about a lot of women who were new to me. I have new names to learn about! But this is definitely a dry read and more something to inspire forward rather than revel in on its own. I still suggest it if you're looking for a good place to start!

[Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

150 World-Changing Women is a collection of short summaries about some of history's most famous and influential women. The summaries vary in length based on the amount of information and historical records available, but they act as good jumping-off points for those who want to do some further research.
Despite the interesting information and wealth of sources, the book contained quite a few inaccuracies and inconsistencies (i.e., citing Medea as the sister of Circe and not her niece, or naming Jocasta as the mother of Odysseus and not the mother of Oedipus). The narrative structure was also a little choppy and hard to follow at times.
Overall, this book was really interesting and provides a lot of basic information about some of the major figures in history, both real and mythological such as Penelope, Helen of Troy, Agrippina, Cleopatra VII, etc. I enjoyed the context provided for each figure so the reader can understand the actions of these figures and truly grasp their historical significance.

Thank you to NetGalley and Pen & Sword for the eARC!

[Michelle Graf · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley and Pen & Sword for the ARC.

Brief profiles of women from Ancient Rome back to Mesopotamian history, most having done enough to warrant a mention in records. Rewrote history may be a stretch for some of these. It's a start for more research, providing further reading recommendations for each woman, but I kinda wished for more out of this.

[Emi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Publishing date: 30.11.2024
Thank you to NetGalley and Pen & Sword for the ARC. My opinions are my own.

I wanted to read more nonfiction this year. Started off by learning a bit about women, but I think this was the wrong book to start with. Here are some off my problems:

- World changing is a very strong word to use, especially when most (if not all) the women in the book had extraordinary roles but could do next to nothing to actually change anything
- The entries feel like a wikipedia entry, and other reviews have mentioned that the contents seem to be rewrites of existing articles
- I wish the women were more connected, or that the author attempted to draw more lines between them instead of just "these women were from the same place/time"
- Even more diversity, more countries, more eons/centuries, would really add more flavour. I understand that a lot of well know women were from the places and times in the book, but diversity often adds that oomph

Even with these problems in mind, I did to some degree enjoy my time with the book. I learnt about women I didn't know existed, and about some roles I wouldn't think could be occupied by women at their times. Some information was gained, but my hunger was not sated.

An okay introduction into influential women, but for those who have a deeper hunger for info, this isn't the one to reach out for.

2 stars, okay read but left me wanting more.

TLDR: Easily "googleable" info and the women weren't that world-changing after all

[Susan Johnston · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you want to read a book that will reinforce your concept of the world as a misogynistic playground for men, this will do nicely. It features 150 women both real and fictional whose very being threatened the status quo. Some wielded power with a delicate touch and some bludgeoned as well as the men they faced. No doubt they all had an influence on the fortunes of the civilization within whose strictures they existed.

What is obvious and sad is the fact that their influence was fleeting and no matter how much they were able to achieve, it would not be until the 20th Century that any of the efforts had any wide ranging impacts on a large number of women. The work alas, is far from done and as someone who lived through the Women”s Liberation movement of the 1960s, that is a sad statement indeed. The examples they used were thought provoking as much as informative. I certainly look at many myths in a vastly different light. But be prepared to become frustrated and perhaps angry that ideas of some long ago men managed to kept over half the population under their thumbs for centuries. Four purrs and two paws up.

[Megan Millard · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I am continually amazed by the general dearth of information available about women throughout history. As a result, I was pretty excited to read this book - I've read several others that focus on specific regions or lifestyles. Unfortunately, I can not recommend this book for a casual armchair reader. While Paul Chrystal does an excellent job with his research and does a pretty good job of including little-known women from history, it is one of the dryest nonfiction texts I have read in a looooooong time.

These women are all pretty fascinating in their own right and I think brief narrative nonfiction summaries of what they accomplished would have been able to keep my attention much better. Instead, we get these long and rambling explanations of various warring tribes/ factions and other names are kind of casually thrown in without any context whatsoever.

This text may be useful for a dual major in gender studies and history, but I don't think it holds a wide appeal to most others. Hell, this is an area of interest for me and I frequently had to go back and re-read certain parts.

[Iris Acosta · Rating 3 out of 5]

World-Changing Women by Paul Chrystal is a book about the various important women of history. The author aims to educate the reader on the women who played a role in making history, whether it was by advising Kings or holding military positions. Others held importance through religion and virtue, but what all had in common was that oftentimes men in their societies tried to subdue them or question their capabilities solely based on sexist stereotypes.

The author mentions familiar names such as Cleopatra, Clytemnestra, Hera, and Athena, and other various women from different cultures.
The author highlights multiple examples of men in positions of power, who abuse said power and inflict pain on women. One particular story I enjoyed mentioned in this book is Clytemnestra's, because originally she is portrayed as vengeful, scheming and complex. Origin stories narrated by men are quick to point out her murder of her husband , but don't point out her motivations for seeking revenge. History would make it seem that it's justifiable to make women suffer, so the author seeks to educate on the contributions of these women in hopes to destroy these stigmas.

Some held higher positions then others, but thanks to these pioneers we are one step closer. I did enjoy the information in this book, but not in this format. Recommended for anyone interested in learning more about history making women, I would rate this 3.5 stars. Thank you to NetGalley and Paul Chrystal for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Georgi_Lvs_Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nature made me a woman, but I have raised myself to rival the greatest of men.’ Semiramis

An interesting read on women throughout history.

150 women featured from the classical world, to ancient Egypt and the anonymous warrior woman of the Isles of Scilly.

A great read to dip in and out of, the author also provides further reading for many of the woman mentioned in this book.

‘If no man will step up, get out of the way!’ Onomaris

My only issue is that this felt a little repetitive.

[Meredith Katz · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was really excited to read this, and when I was approved for it, I went to Goodreads to add it as started reading--and was immediately cautious when I saw that the author, Paul Chrystal, had written over 120 books since 2010 (something he mentions on his own website). He has written 18 (!) in the last year alone. While not impossible,it's extremely difficult, especially for historical work where you want to do a lot of in-depth research and cross-referencing, so I was alert to the possibility of either AI sourcing or poor research. I initially was leaning towards AI, because I saw other reviews mentioning really strange errors (such as calling Jocasta the mother of Odysseus, not Oedipus). I went in with an open mind nevertheless and I'm fairly confident it isn't AI, based on the writing style. The introduction especially feels as if it's in an authorial voice.

However, as I read on, I realized that, unfortunately, he essentially took wikipedia articles and changed a few words here or there. For example, here is Baranamtarra's wikipedia page - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baranam.... The first lines are:

"In 2384 BCE, Baranamtarra and her husband, Lugalanda, seized power in Lagash, one of the oldest cities in Sumer. They became the largest landholders in the city, and Baranamtarra presided over a temple and several estates herself. Queen Baranamtarra managed her own private estates and those of the temple of the goddess Bau. She bought and sold slaves and sent diplomatic missions to neighboring states."

His section on Baranamtarra opens with a general description of her wielding exceptional power and then adds:

"In 2384 bce during the first dynasty of Lagash (c. 2500-2300 bce) Baranamtarra and her husband, Lugalanda, seized power in a coup in Lagash, one of the oldest cities in Sumer. The couple became the largest landholders in the city, while Baranamtarra managed her own private estates and those of the temple of the goddess Bau. She bought and sold slaves and sent diplomatic missions to neighbouring states."

I don't want to excerpt too heavily and risk this review getting copyright struck myself, but the rest of her section also matches nearly identically to the wikipedia page but for a couple of words changed (the same way "they became" turned into "the couple became"), or occasionally swapping around parts of a sentence.

The next section doesn't seem to be from wikipedia (though he sources another author here at least), but the section after, Ku-baba is, though broken up a little better:

His: "A legendary Mesopotamian queen who, according to the Sumerian King list, ruled over Kish for a hundred years before the rise of the dynasty of Akshak. Being a woman, her inclusion is unusual: while some modern authors refer to her as a queen, the Sumerian title applied to her is lugal ('king'), which had no feminine equivalent."

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kubaba - "Kubaba was a legendary Mesopotamian queen who according to the Sumerian King List ruled over Kish for a hundred years before the rise of the dynasty of Akshak. [...] Kubaba is mentioned in the Sumerian King List, though due to her gender her inclusion is considered unusual. While some modern authors refer to her as a queen, the Sumerian title applied to her is lugal ("king"), which had no feminine counterpart."

Ditto the one after, Enheduanna:

His: "We celebrate Enheduanna, daughter of Sargon of Akkad founder of the Akkadian Empire, as the world's earliest known named author: a number of works in Sumerian literature, such as the Exaltation of Inanna, feature her as the firstperson narrator, and other works, like the Sumerian Temple Hymns, give her as their author although there is ongoing controversy over this."

Wikipedia ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enhedua... "Enheduanna has been celebrated as the earliest known named author in world history, as a number of works in Sumerian literature, such as the Exaltation of Inanna feature her as the first-person narrator, and other works, such as the Sumerian Temple Hymns may identify her as their author. However, there is considerable debate among modern Assyriologists based on linguistic and archaeological grounds as to whether or not she actually wrote or composed any of the rediscovered works that have been attributed to her. "

This book does a good job of rounding up a lot of information and is very readable. There's no category on wikipedia of "World-Changing Women", and he's added at least one who does not have their own pages on wikipedia, so he's done a good job rounding this up and summarizing this existing information. If this is something that would be useful to you, it's all here in one place. I personally will be DNFing this work, however.

Thank you to NetGalley and to Pen and Sword History for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Ruth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book but as much as I liked this book I wanted to love it. The book is made up of summaries varying in length about women from ancient Israel, Egypt, Greece, and Rome. I love learning history, especially about women throughout history, but the book lacked something for me. There’s plenty of great information but I found a lot of it surface level and lacking. The book left me wanting to learn more about the fascinating women featured. It felt the author barely touched the surface of the women he wrote about. 

Another small critique for me is the placement of the pictures. While I loved the photos included at the back of the book, I wish they had been scattered throughout the book instead. I would help to have them alongside the relevant sections which would break up the writing and made it easier to remember the women being discussed. With all the images grouped at the end, it was harder to remember who each woman was, which is a shame as they all deserve to be remembered. That said, I enjoyed it overall but I wouldn’t recommend it unless someone is particularly interested in women in ancient history.