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What Regency Women Did for Us
Regency women inhabited a very different world from the one in which we live today. Considered intellectually inferior to men, they received little education and had very few rights. This book tells the inspirational stories of twelve women, from very different backgrounds, who overcame often huge obstacles to achieve success. These women were pioneers, philanthropists and entrepreneurs, authors, scientists and actresses women who made an impact on their world and ours. In her debut non-fiction work, popular history blogger Rachel Knowles tells how each of these remarkable ladies helped change the world they lived in and whose legacy is still evident today. Two hundred years later, their stories are still inspirational.
224 pages, Paperback
First published April 30, 2017
33 people are currently reading
275 people want to read
About the author
Rachel Knowles
8 books109 followersRachel writes faith-based Regency romance with rich historical detail.
Already addicted to happy endings, Rachel first read Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice at the age of thirteen and fell in love, not only with Mr Darcy, but with the entire Regency period.
Since 2011, she has been blogging about her research on the Regency History blog. She writes historical non-fiction based on this research.
Rachel lives in the beautiful Georgian seaside town of Weymouth, Dorset, on the south coast of England, with her husband, Andrew. They have four grown-up daughters and a growing number of grandchildren.
Already addicted to happy endings, Rachel first read Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice at the age of thirteen and fell in love, not only with Mr Darcy, but with the entire Regency period.
Since 2011, she has been blogging about her research on the Regency History blog. She writes historical non-fiction based on this research.
Rachel lives in the beautiful Georgian seaside town of Weymouth, Dorset, on the south coast of England, with her husband, Andrew. They have four grown-up daughters and a growing number of grandchildren.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
January 29, 2018
What Regency Women Did for Us focuses on the lives of twelve Regency era whose notable contributions to the world (with only a few exceptions) have been largely forgotten today. Thanks to Knowles, their accomplishments—which were made during a time when women were thought to be lesser than men and were expected only to marry and raise children—are acknowledged and celebrated even more so for having been done during a restrictive era for women.
The women discussed in this book were authors (Jane Austen and Maria Edgeworth), scientists (Jane Marcet, Mary Anning, and Caroline Herschel), an engineer and inventor (Sarah Guppy), businesswomen (Marie Tussaud and Eleanor Coade), actresses (Sarah Siddons and Harriot Mellon), a mountaineer and philanthropist for women (Mary Parminter), and a prison reformer (Elizabeth Fry).
I was unfamiliar with many of the women discussed in this book. The only names I was familiar with were Jane Austen, Marie Tussaud, and Maria Edgeworth. Although I was aware Maria Edgeworth was an author, something I didn’t know is she created the historical fiction genre. (And I’m so thankful she did, because I love historical fiction!)
I love learning about women’s history, so this was an enjoyable read for me. I would recommend this book to others who enjoy reading about women’s history.
I received an advance review copy of this book courtesy of Pen & Sword Books via Netgalley.
The women discussed in this book were authors (Jane Austen and Maria Edgeworth), scientists (Jane Marcet, Mary Anning, and Caroline Herschel), an engineer and inventor (Sarah Guppy), businesswomen (Marie Tussaud and Eleanor Coade), actresses (Sarah Siddons and Harriot Mellon), a mountaineer and philanthropist for women (Mary Parminter), and a prison reformer (Elizabeth Fry).
I was unfamiliar with many of the women discussed in this book. The only names I was familiar with were Jane Austen, Marie Tussaud, and Maria Edgeworth. Although I was aware Maria Edgeworth was an author, something I didn’t know is she created the historical fiction genre. (And I’m so thankful she did, because I love historical fiction!)
I love learning about women’s history, so this was an enjoyable read for me. I would recommend this book to others who enjoy reading about women’s history.
I received an advance review copy of this book courtesy of Pen & Sword Books via Netgalley.
March 30, 2021
Fascinating
Not everyone listed here was wildly interesting but it was still a good read about the innovations of women in a time when they had no voice.
Not everyone listed here was wildly interesting but it was still a good read about the innovations of women in a time when they had no voice.
June 8, 2017
I would like to thank Pen & Sword books for sending a physical copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This is a clever look into some unknown (and some well known) women who were alive in the regency era. The biographies are short, but give a good overview of each woman.
The author started writing with a blog focused on regency history (http://www.regencyhistory.net/), this is fascinating, but writing needed to be adapted more to fit into a non-fiction book. Sometimes it feels like an overload information.
Eleanor Coade - A business owner who helped to create a fake stone that was used to decorate buildings. Did work for the royal family and some of her work is still on display today.
Caroline Herschel - An astronomer who was the first female to discover a comet and be paid for scientific work.
Sarah Siddons - An actress which made acting a respectable career for women and started a trend for wearing period accurate clothing for a character rather than contemporary clothing.
Marie Tussaud - the wax work modeller and entrepreneur.
Mary Parminter - a pioneering mountain climber and advocate of women owning their own property. She helped build A La Ronde, owned by the National Trust that helped to educate women and house unmarried women.
Maria Edgeworth – Started the historical fiction genre. Famous within her own lifetime meeting many leading figures including sir walter scott, whom she knew well and influenced. Advocate of women's education.
Jane Marcet - wrote books to help people (especially women) to help people to understand scientific ideas talked about at the royal academy, Faraday started learning through her work. Helped to establish that women were capable of learning science.
Sarah Guppy – engineer who came up with many useful ideas she patented the first suspension bridge in britain. This may have influenced brunel’s clifton suspension bridge.
Jane Austen – Author.
Harriot Mellon – went from a poor irish player to a wealthy women with a share in Coutts bank. She left a massive estate to mainly female relatives with the condition that no husband have control of the money. She helped to set up one of the wealthiest Victorian philanthropists, Baroness Angela Burdett-Coutts.
Elizabeth Fry – prison reformer focusing on women, education. One of the founding persons of nursing in the uk.
Mary Anning – fossilist who came from a poor background who educated herself
This is a clever look into some unknown (and some well known) women who were alive in the regency era. The biographies are short, but give a good overview of each woman.
The author started writing with a blog focused on regency history (http://www.regencyhistory.net/), this is fascinating, but writing needed to be adapted more to fit into a non-fiction book. Sometimes it feels like an overload information.
Eleanor Coade - A business owner who helped to create a fake stone that was used to decorate buildings. Did work for the royal family and some of her work is still on display today.
Caroline Herschel - An astronomer who was the first female to discover a comet and be paid for scientific work.
Sarah Siddons - An actress which made acting a respectable career for women and started a trend for wearing period accurate clothing for a character rather than contemporary clothing.
Marie Tussaud - the wax work modeller and entrepreneur.
Mary Parminter - a pioneering mountain climber and advocate of women owning their own property. She helped build A La Ronde, owned by the National Trust that helped to educate women and house unmarried women.
Maria Edgeworth – Started the historical fiction genre. Famous within her own lifetime meeting many leading figures including sir walter scott, whom she knew well and influenced. Advocate of women's education.
Jane Marcet - wrote books to help people (especially women) to help people to understand scientific ideas talked about at the royal academy, Faraday started learning through her work. Helped to establish that women were capable of learning science.
Sarah Guppy – engineer who came up with many useful ideas she patented the first suspension bridge in britain. This may have influenced brunel’s clifton suspension bridge.
Jane Austen – Author.
Harriot Mellon – went from a poor irish player to a wealthy women with a share in Coutts bank. She left a massive estate to mainly female relatives with the condition that no husband have control of the money. She helped to set up one of the wealthiest Victorian philanthropists, Baroness Angela Burdett-Coutts.
Elizabeth Fry – prison reformer focusing on women, education. One of the founding persons of nursing in the uk.
Mary Anning – fossilist who came from a poor background who educated herself
February 18, 2021
This was a fascinating education on women of the Regency period who expanded the boundaries of what women were able to accomplish, even in a time when the accepted perspective was that the only lifestyle women were fit for was being wives and mothers.
Of the 12 women this book provided the stories about, I knew only three before reading this - Jane Austen, Madame Tussaud, and Elizabeth Fry. The author does a really good job of educating the reader about the exceptional accomplishments of these women, but doing so in an entertainingly readable way. This isn't a dry, text-book-like delivery, but really brings the women to life and makes them relatable and human for the reader.
I am a fan of the Regency period, but I think anyone who appreciates the challenges women face who choose unorthodox life-styles in any era will find interesting stories in this book. It certainly is eye-opening for anyone who doesn't know these names to learn more about women who blazed the trail for today's feminists who want to make choices and live lives that make sense and offer unique opportunities even when the society of the time tries forcing them into molds of "what a woman's place ought to be".
I really enjoyed this, and recommend it to anyone who appreciates women who take a different path.
Of the 12 women this book provided the stories about, I knew only three before reading this - Jane Austen, Madame Tussaud, and Elizabeth Fry. The author does a really good job of educating the reader about the exceptional accomplishments of these women, but doing so in an entertainingly readable way. This isn't a dry, text-book-like delivery, but really brings the women to life and makes them relatable and human for the reader.
I am a fan of the Regency period, but I think anyone who appreciates the challenges women face who choose unorthodox life-styles in any era will find interesting stories in this book. It certainly is eye-opening for anyone who doesn't know these names to learn more about women who blazed the trail for today's feminists who want to make choices and live lives that make sense and offer unique opportunities even when the society of the time tries forcing them into molds of "what a woman's place ought to be".
I really enjoyed this, and recommend it to anyone who appreciates women who take a different path.
January 18, 2018
True to its title, the book focuses on the outcomes of the women's lives. Unfortunately, too much to make it a "good read." It almost discounts the women themselves, in favor of their accomplishments.
I think the book tries, but it does not succeed in going deep enough into these women's lives to make the reader see them as the heroines of important stories that should be told. This is a failure (or perhaps it was exactly the intent) of the distant writing tone, the segmented structure, and the academician's refusal to let the most interesting bits of the women's lives be the central story.
Lest I seem harsh, I praise Knowles for creating an excellent piece of reference material. The book is a good starting point for a young person curious about the era, about women's roles in history, or how to go about finding additional works for researching any of these women.
I think the book tries, but it does not succeed in going deep enough into these women's lives to make the reader see them as the heroines of important stories that should be told. This is a failure (or perhaps it was exactly the intent) of the distant writing tone, the segmented structure, and the academician's refusal to let the most interesting bits of the women's lives be the central story.
Lest I seem harsh, I praise Knowles for creating an excellent piece of reference material. The book is a good starting point for a young person curious about the era, about women's roles in history, or how to go about finding additional works for researching any of these women.
October 6, 2017
A gripping book about twelve extraordinary women I received a copy of this paperback from Pen & Sword History and I freely chose to review the book.
This is another great book by Pen & Sword that are quickly becoming one of my favourite publishing companies for non-fiction books.
This small volume is packed with information. After a brief introduction that sets the Regency period, particularly how life was for women at the time, the book discusses the lives of twelve women who played an important role in the UK during that period. As the author comments, they were not the only women of note at the time, but they did make a significant difference to Britain, and a difference that survives to this day. They come from all walks of life, their professions or interests are diverse, some were married and had children but half of them never married, and I must confess that although I knew some of them, I had never heard of the others. And I learned a great deal by reading this book even about the ones I was somewhat familiar with.
By now, you must be wondering who these twelve women are.
Chapter 1 is dedicated to Eleanor Coade, whom the author calls ‘the king’s stone maker’, a business woman who took charge of the artificial stone manufactory that bore her name and was very good at creating a high quality product and also at marketing. I had never realised that many of the statues, garden sculptures, and facades of buildings I have visited were made using her stone.
Chapter 2 introduces us to Caroline Herschel, who always keen to assist her brother, became an astronomer of note in her own right (and she discovered many comets).
Sarah Siddons, the actress that lifted the reputation of actresses and well known for her tragic roles, is discussed in chapter 3.
Marie Tussaud, of Madame Tussaud’s fame, is the subject of chapter 4. And although I was familiar with the wax museum, I discovered I didn’t know much about this fascinating woman.
Chapter 5 is dedicated to Mary Parminter, mountaineer, traveller, and benefactress to other women.
Writer and mother of historical fiction Maria Edgeworth is discussed in chapter 6.
In chapter 7 we learn about Jane Marcet, a woman so eager to learn and to help others learn, that she wrote the chemistry for dummies of the period, so that women and people who had not had access to much formal education could understand the subject. She used the format of a dialogue between female students and teacher and also provided examples of experiments that could easily be done at home. Faraday gave her credit for his early steps in science and she was very well regarded and a best-seller of the time.
Chapter 8 is taken up by Sarah Guppy, who was an amateur engineer and although did not always get credit for her inventions she truly deserves to be in this book.
Jane Austen is the subject of chapter 9. Although she died during the period, the author chose to include her. She is probably the most famous woman in the book, and the one I knew more about, but I learned some new things and her chapter is a good introduction to readers who are not familiar with her life, works, and period.
Harriot Mellon had an awful childhood but she went on to become and actress and eventually a banker, and her private bank exists to this day. And her legacy, that found its way into many charitable causes, has also endured.
Elizabeth Fry is perhaps best known for having been on the back of the £5 note for a while. I read about her when I studied Criminology, as she was a big prison reformer, but I did not know about her role in creating a training school for nurses well before Florence Nightingale, and her life is fascinating. She was a truly passionate and generous woman, always devoted to improving the lives of others.
The last woman the author chooses to include is Mary Anning. She was from humble origins but became a great fossilist and her fossils are still on display in many museums today.
Knowles has chosen a fantastic group of women to write about. Her writing style is fluid, easy to follow, and includes both information about the personal lives of these women and about their contributions to the period. These brief biographical chapters are a good introduction to anybody who wants to get some idea about what women’s lives were like at the time, whilst at the same time providing a glimpse into what made these twelve women extraordinary. Their intelligence, their determination, and their passion shine through in those few pages. I must confess I would be happy to read a whole book on any and all of these women.
I recommend this book to anybody interested in women’s history or looking for an introduction into the Regency Period that looks more closely at the role women played. It is a gripping read and I hope it will go some way to help these women get the attention they deserve.
This is another great book by Pen & Sword that are quickly becoming one of my favourite publishing companies for non-fiction books.
This small volume is packed with information. After a brief introduction that sets the Regency period, particularly how life was for women at the time, the book discusses the lives of twelve women who played an important role in the UK during that period. As the author comments, they were not the only women of note at the time, but they did make a significant difference to Britain, and a difference that survives to this day. They come from all walks of life, their professions or interests are diverse, some were married and had children but half of them never married, and I must confess that although I knew some of them, I had never heard of the others. And I learned a great deal by reading this book even about the ones I was somewhat familiar with.
By now, you must be wondering who these twelve women are.
Chapter 1 is dedicated to Eleanor Coade, whom the author calls ‘the king’s stone maker’, a business woman who took charge of the artificial stone manufactory that bore her name and was very good at creating a high quality product and also at marketing. I had never realised that many of the statues, garden sculptures, and facades of buildings I have visited were made using her stone.
Chapter 2 introduces us to Caroline Herschel, who always keen to assist her brother, became an astronomer of note in her own right (and she discovered many comets).
Sarah Siddons, the actress that lifted the reputation of actresses and well known for her tragic roles, is discussed in chapter 3.
Marie Tussaud, of Madame Tussaud’s fame, is the subject of chapter 4. And although I was familiar with the wax museum, I discovered I didn’t know much about this fascinating woman.
Chapter 5 is dedicated to Mary Parminter, mountaineer, traveller, and benefactress to other women.
Writer and mother of historical fiction Maria Edgeworth is discussed in chapter 6.
In chapter 7 we learn about Jane Marcet, a woman so eager to learn and to help others learn, that she wrote the chemistry for dummies of the period, so that women and people who had not had access to much formal education could understand the subject. She used the format of a dialogue between female students and teacher and also provided examples of experiments that could easily be done at home. Faraday gave her credit for his early steps in science and she was very well regarded and a best-seller of the time.
Chapter 8 is taken up by Sarah Guppy, who was an amateur engineer and although did not always get credit for her inventions she truly deserves to be in this book.
Jane Austen is the subject of chapter 9. Although she died during the period, the author chose to include her. She is probably the most famous woman in the book, and the one I knew more about, but I learned some new things and her chapter is a good introduction to readers who are not familiar with her life, works, and period.
Harriot Mellon had an awful childhood but she went on to become and actress and eventually a banker, and her private bank exists to this day. And her legacy, that found its way into many charitable causes, has also endured.
Elizabeth Fry is perhaps best known for having been on the back of the £5 note for a while. I read about her when I studied Criminology, as she was a big prison reformer, but I did not know about her role in creating a training school for nurses well before Florence Nightingale, and her life is fascinating. She was a truly passionate and generous woman, always devoted to improving the lives of others.
The last woman the author chooses to include is Mary Anning. She was from humble origins but became a great fossilist and her fossils are still on display in many museums today.
Knowles has chosen a fantastic group of women to write about. Her writing style is fluid, easy to follow, and includes both information about the personal lives of these women and about their contributions to the period. These brief biographical chapters are a good introduction to anybody who wants to get some idea about what women’s lives were like at the time, whilst at the same time providing a glimpse into what made these twelve women extraordinary. Their intelligence, their determination, and their passion shine through in those few pages. I must confess I would be happy to read a whole book on any and all of these women.
I recommend this book to anybody interested in women’s history or looking for an introduction into the Regency Period that looks more closely at the role women played. It is a gripping read and I hope it will go some way to help these women get the attention they deserve.
June 18, 2017
A good book containing short biographies of each woman, some well known, like Jane Austen and Elizabeth Fry, but many unknown and forgotten. Which is sad, because so many of them made important contributions to society as scientific pioneers, writers, and even an engineer who patented the first suspension bridge.
Even where they have been commemorated in our modern age, many aspects of their lives are sidelined or ignored, such as the Fossil Hunter Mary Anning's strong religious faith, or else men were given credit for the later development of their inventions and ideas. Though in many cases, those who followed in the footsteps of these remarkable women acknowledged their contribution, this acknowledgment is also often forgotten.
For someone like me, who isn't really familiar with the Regency period at all, it's an interesting and inspiring read. Other reviewers have remarked how none of the chapters go into depth, so I think it's aimed people such as myself, instead of those looking for a more detailed analysis of the careers of these women.
Thanks to Pen and Sword Books for providing me with a PDF copy to read and review. I was not required to write a positive one, and no incentive was given.
Even where they have been commemorated in our modern age, many aspects of their lives are sidelined or ignored, such as the Fossil Hunter Mary Anning's strong religious faith, or else men were given credit for the later development of their inventions and ideas. Though in many cases, those who followed in the footsteps of these remarkable women acknowledged their contribution, this acknowledgment is also often forgotten.
For someone like me, who isn't really familiar with the Regency period at all, it's an interesting and inspiring read. Other reviewers have remarked how none of the chapters go into depth, so I think it's aimed people such as myself, instead of those looking for a more detailed analysis of the careers of these women.
Thanks to Pen and Sword Books for providing me with a PDF copy to read and review. I was not required to write a positive one, and no incentive was given.
December 17, 2023
This lovely and informative collection of essays shows the contributions by Regency women of discoveries that supported and changed the world: Coade stone, Mary Anning as an early, female paleontologist, Caroline Herschel's support and advances in astronomy; Mary Parminter advancing support for women; Harriet Mellon Coutts financial acumen; Marcet's support of science which made it accessible to people who changed our world (Faraday); Edgeworth as the mother of historical fiction and Sarah Guppy's contributions to engineering and innovation. Totally recommend this read for women, who stepped outside the mold and made change in the world. <3
May 9, 2017
An interesting and inspiring collection of 12 stories about inspiring women from the Regency period. Besides the well-known Jane Austen, there are biographies about relatively unknown personalities associated with the struggle of being recognized as subject with full rights, including to pursue a scientific career. The stories are based on rich bibliographical references, easily integrated as readable stories. An inspiring and brain-storming lecture.
Disclaimer: Book offered by the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Disclaimer: Book offered by the publisher in exchange for an honest review
April 10, 2018
A nice set of potted biographies of Regency Period women who changed the world around them in one way or another.
The 12 women range from the famous, Jane Austen, Elizabeth Fry, Madame Tussaud, Mrs Siddons, to those less well today such as Harriot Mellon, Eleanor Coade, or Maria Edgeworth.
Even the biographies of the former, well know, women contained fascinating facts that I had not known - for example Elizabeth Fry, rather than Florence Nightingale some 40 years later, was hailed as the mother of nursing.
The 12 women range from the famous, Jane Austen, Elizabeth Fry, Madame Tussaud, Mrs Siddons, to those less well today such as Harriot Mellon, Eleanor Coade, or Maria Edgeworth.
Even the biographies of the former, well know, women contained fascinating facts that I had not known - for example Elizabeth Fry, rather than Florence Nightingale some 40 years later, was hailed as the mother of nursing.
May 27, 2019
A potted history of 12 remarkable women during the Regency period. I felt it was almost like precised notes for an exam but still interesting to find out what these women achieved at a time when they were likely to be considered second class citizens. Amazingly strong women who fought against all the odds. A couple I definitely knew of i.e. Jane Austen and Elizabeth Fry but the rest certainly made important contributions in their fields but have sadly been forgotten. Could easily be read by a younger audience.
July 24, 2019
I just loving learning about "Unsung" heroes, even better when they are women. The biographies in this book were very informative and seemed to be thoroughly researched. I also enjoyed the author's writing style which is not textbookey but very approachable. The stories in this book served to remind me again that the struggle of women for independence and recognition did not start in the 20th century but much longer before that. I think it's important that we don't let these early trailblazers drift away in the dust of history. Women's history lovers in particular should really enjoy this one
October 25, 2018
12 interesting females that left us with their contribution towards life, science and spirit. All these females are pioneers in that they showed intelligence, determination, spunk for what they did. A great overview of what these females were about, a bit of their personal life and how they contributed to life as we know it. A great informative read.
October 15, 2023
Although the Regency was a relatively short period of time in English history it has left a lasting impression on the consciousness. Knowles explores the lives of several women who were active during this time period, ranging from novelist Jane Austen to the fossil hunting Mary Anning. A good introduction to the various women leaving you with the need to find out more.
November 27, 2017
Fascinating view of many Regency women who affected our world today.
March 26, 2021
I am happy that I found this book about fascinating women. I recommend this book.
July 21, 2022
3,5 stars. Interesting vignets of several women in Regency era.
January 27, 2025
Decent enough starter to continue to either discover more about these extraordinary women, or to find more of them, both of this time, or throughout the rest of history.
July 22, 2025
Without having finished it if you like women's history, Regency romances etc. Get hold of a copy.
It has chapters for individual women of Europe, so does not need to be read in a 'oner'.
It has chapters for individual women of Europe, so does not need to be read in a 'oner'.
September 12, 2017
Every single story in this book was compelling, yet because each was just the right length, I could enjoy them in short bouts of reading. The selection of individuals for the stories captured many varying professions, adding to the enjoyment of the subject matter. I was never bored or felt like I was reading something dry, which happens with nonfiction, but not this book. I liked the photo spread in the middle so I could "see" a bit of the stories, and would have enjoyed more photos. Rachel Knowles, as a fan of your blog and your fiction, I now must thank you for sharing these women's stories with us, and assure you that I hope to read more of your nonfiction. I'm even inspired to incorporate snippets into my fiction if I can figure out how to do it!
March 9, 2025
3/5 filler book to try and get rid of my throne of glass obsession. Had all the makings of a good book but was actually just bland
March 24, 2017
'What Regency Women Did For Us' looks at some fascinating and under-appreciated women from the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. From this angle, I found the book very interesting. However the writing felt superficial and lacked insight or depth while the writer - and this may be a personal dislike - uses too many exclamation marks. Despite that, this would be a good introduction to the subject and I would recommend it to beginners.
April 14, 2017
"What Regency Women Did For Us" provides short biographies for 12 women who were remarkable in their time and who lived during the Regency period. They included business women, scientists, authors, an inventor, and women who used their money to help others.
For each woman, we learned a bit about their childhood, their adult life and career, their later life, how others described them, and their legacy. Some still have a wide, lasting impact (like Jane Austen), but others don't. Eleanor Coade, for example, ran a successful artificial stone business and some pieces made from this stone still exist. Overall, I'd recommend this interesting read to fans of short biographies.
Eleanor Coade (1733-1821) - business woman
Caroline Herschel (1750-1848) - astronomer
Sarah Siddons (1755-1831) - actress
Marie Tussaud (1761-1850) - business woman
Mary Parminter (1767-1849) - traveler, mountaineer, philanthropist
Maria Edgeworth (1768-1849) - author
Jane Marcet (1769-1858) - author
Sarah Guppy (1770-1852) - inventor
Jane Austen (1775-1817) - author
Harriot Mellon (1777-1837) actress, business woman
Elizabeth Fry (1780-1845) - reformer, nursing
Mary Anning (1799-1847) - fossilist
I received an ebook review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.
For each woman, we learned a bit about their childhood, their adult life and career, their later life, how others described them, and their legacy. Some still have a wide, lasting impact (like Jane Austen), but others don't. Eleanor Coade, for example, ran a successful artificial stone business and some pieces made from this stone still exist. Overall, I'd recommend this interesting read to fans of short biographies.
Eleanor Coade (1733-1821) - business woman
Caroline Herschel (1750-1848) - astronomer
Sarah Siddons (1755-1831) - actress
Marie Tussaud (1761-1850) - business woman
Mary Parminter (1767-1849) - traveler, mountaineer, philanthropist
Maria Edgeworth (1768-1849) - author
Jane Marcet (1769-1858) - author
Sarah Guppy (1770-1852) - inventor
Jane Austen (1775-1817) - author
Harriot Mellon (1777-1837) actress, business woman
Elizabeth Fry (1780-1845) - reformer, nursing
Mary Anning (1799-1847) - fossilist
I received an ebook review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews