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Sisters of Scandal: Mind-blowing tales of history's boldest and baddest women
Dirty secrets, wild romps, unruly behaviour, unapologetic rebels, wild seductresses and badasses galore ... History is HOT.
Did you know that women occupy only 0.5 per cent of the historical record? Diving into the lives of queens, witches, bitches and It Girls throughout the ages – from Cleopatra, Marie Antoinette and Mata Hari to the British PM’s secret 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.
From Alva Vanderbilt’s $6 million ball to Empress Sisi’s meat mask, we look at the boldest, most indecent and totally unruly things that pissed men off enough they simply HAD to write them down!
Did you know that women occupy only 0.5 per cent of the historical record? Diving into the lives of queens, witches, bitches and It Girls throughout the ages – from Cleopatra, Marie Antoinette and Mata Hari to the British PM’s secret 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.
From Alva Vanderbilt’s $6 million ball to Empress Sisi’s meat mask, we look at the boldest, most indecent and totally unruly things that pissed men off enough they simply HAD to write them down!
356 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 25, 2025
14 people are currently reading
145 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
December 27, 2025
‘Dirty secrets, wild romps, unruly behaviour, unapologetic rebels, wild seductresses and badasses galore ... History is HOT.’
If history has ever felt a little too stiff, male and buttoned up for your liking, Sisters of Scandal is here to loosen the corset and kick over the table.
Ainslie Harvey delivers a gloriously unruly romp through the lives of women who refused to behave, stay quiet, or disappear politely into the margins. Queens, witches, seductresses, social climbers and outright troublemakers burst from the pages, reminding us that women only make up 0.5% of the historical record and somehow still managed to cause absolute mayhem.
This is history at its most deliciously messy. From Cleopatra and Marie Antoinette to Mata Hari and Pamela Churchill Harriman, Harvey serves up scandal with style.
The tone is sharp, funny, and unapologetically cheeky, with illustrations that make the whole thing feel like a secret gossip session you’re lucky enough to be invited to. It celebrates ambition, excess, rebellion and the kind of audacity that rattles the foundations of polite society.
Sisters of Scandal doesn’t just reclaim women from history, it revels in their chaos. Perfect for anyone (like me) who loves their feminism loud, their women feral, and their facts served with a wink.
I Highly Recommend.
Thank you Affirm Press for my early readers copy.
Available Now!
If history has ever felt a little too stiff, male and buttoned up for your liking, Sisters of Scandal is here to loosen the corset and kick over the table.
Ainslie Harvey delivers a gloriously unruly romp through the lives of women who refused to behave, stay quiet, or disappear politely into the margins. Queens, witches, seductresses, social climbers and outright troublemakers burst from the pages, reminding us that women only make up 0.5% of the historical record and somehow still managed to cause absolute mayhem.
This is history at its most deliciously messy. From Cleopatra and Marie Antoinette to Mata Hari and Pamela Churchill Harriman, Harvey serves up scandal with style.
The tone is sharp, funny, and unapologetically cheeky, with illustrations that make the whole thing feel like a secret gossip session you’re lucky enough to be invited to. It celebrates ambition, excess, rebellion and the kind of audacity that rattles the foundations of polite society.
Sisters of Scandal doesn’t just reclaim women from history, it revels in their chaos. Perfect for anyone (like me) who loves their feminism loud, their women feral, and their facts served with a wink.
I Highly Recommend.
Thank you Affirm Press for my early readers copy.
Available Now!
January 11, 2026
3.75 🌟🌟🌟
Enjoyed this book more than I thought I would.
Learnt some tantalising facts about these “scandalise” women of history - new tidbits about those a knew, fascinating facts about those I had heard of, while discovering new “girl power” in other scandalous sisters of history.
In saying this, it felt like they just transcribed Ainslie’s TokTok onto page, along with the ‘millennial’ antidotes to match. Follows of Ainslie will enjoy the read, though I felt it needed just a little more padding, a little positive facts to lift the women up. Though, as Ainslie notes women’s history is usually written by men so only the ‘bad’ girls get notes - like this is what NOT to do.
Enjoyed this book more than I thought I would.
Learnt some tantalising facts about these “scandalise” women of history - new tidbits about those a knew, fascinating facts about those I had heard of, while discovering new “girl power” in other scandalous sisters of history.
In saying this, it felt like they just transcribed Ainslie’s TokTok onto page, along with the ‘millennial’ antidotes to match. Follows of Ainslie will enjoy the read, though I felt it needed just a little more padding, a little positive facts to lift the women up. Though, as Ainslie notes women’s history is usually written by men so only the ‘bad’ girls get notes - like this is what NOT to do.
December 31, 2025
The women featured in Sisters of Scandal deserve better than this book gives them. Their stories are inherently fascinating and important, which is why this gets three stars at all. However, the execution falls far short of the subject matter.
The editing is disappointingly sloppy throughout. Basic errors like "burden to bare" instead of "bear" slip through, and there are factual mistakes that should have been caught—most notably placing Hypatia of Alexandria's birth in BCE rather than AD, which would make her over 700 years old at her death. These aren't minor quibbles; they undermine the credibility of the work.
I understand Harvey built her following as a TikTok historian, and the very casual, modern tone may work well in that format. But what translates as engaging in short videos feels misplaced in a published book about historical figures. The heavy use of contemporary colloquialisms and "yass queen" energy felt jarringly anachronistic and detracted from taking these women and their genuine accomplishments seriously.
The stories themselves carry this book, but they deserved more careful research, editing, and a tone that matches the gravity of their subjects. If a properly edited and revised edition is released in the future, I'd be more inclined to recommend it. For now, read it for the women, but prepare to cringe at the presentation
The editing is disappointingly sloppy throughout. Basic errors like "burden to bare" instead of "bear" slip through, and there are factual mistakes that should have been caught—most notably placing Hypatia of Alexandria's birth in BCE rather than AD, which would make her over 700 years old at her death. These aren't minor quibbles; they undermine the credibility of the work.
I understand Harvey built her following as a TikTok historian, and the very casual, modern tone may work well in that format. But what translates as engaging in short videos feels misplaced in a published book about historical figures. The heavy use of contemporary colloquialisms and "yass queen" energy felt jarringly anachronistic and detracted from taking these women and their genuine accomplishments seriously.
The stories themselves carry this book, but they deserved more careful research, editing, and a tone that matches the gravity of their subjects. If a properly edited and revised edition is released in the future, I'd be more inclined to recommend it. For now, read it for the women, but prepare to cringe at the presentation
January 11, 2026
Feel like this was trying too hard to be funny and relatable .
January 3, 2026
Lightweight (humorous) account of numerous (semi-famous) women over the course of history. According to the author, only 0.5% of recorded history relates to or is about, women. Probably correct.
From Cleopatra to American heiresses such as the Vanderbilts, she covers a wide range of women - all considered scandalous in their time. Largely for taking control over their own lives, being intelligent and getting sh*t done.
In "recorded" history, many of these women are described as astonishingly beautiful - as if that was necessary to explain their successes in life. It could NOT be just because they were smart cookies now could it?
A worthy read.
From Cleopatra to American heiresses such as the Vanderbilts, she covers a wide range of women - all considered scandalous in their time. Largely for taking control over their own lives, being intelligent and getting sh*t done.
In "recorded" history, many of these women are described as astonishingly beautiful - as if that was necessary to explain their successes in life. It could NOT be just because they were smart cookies now could it?
A worthy read.
January 12, 2026
Interesting.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews