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The Women's History of the Modern World: How Radicals, Rebels, and Everywomen Revolutionized the Last 200 Years
Men dominate history because they write it. This book offers a reappraisal which aims to re-establish women's importance at the centre of the worldwide history of revolution, empire, war and peace. As well as looking at the influence of ordinary women, it looks at those who have shaped history.
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First published February 28, 2019
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About the author
Rosalind Miles
71 books420 followersRosalind Miles is an author born and raised in England and now living in both Los Angeles and Kent, England. She has written both works of fiction and non-fiction. As a child, Miles suffered from polio, and had to undergo several months of treatment. After being accepted to a junior women's college, Miles acquired a working knowledge of Latin and Greek, along with developing her life-long love of Shakespeare. At seventeen, she was promoted to St. Hilda's College, Oxford where she studied English literature, Anglo-Saxon, Middle English, Latin and French. She obtained five degrees in all, ending with a Ph.D. from the Shakespeare Institute at the University of Birmingham.
Miles later on became interested in jurisprudence, which resulted in her sitting as a lay magistrate in the English criminal and family courts, and eventually on the bench in a superior court in Coventry. She is also a regular commentator on the BBC, on Canadian Radio, and in The Times.
Miles later on became interested in jurisprudence, which resulted in her sitting as a lay magistrate in the English criminal and family courts, and eventually on the bench in a superior court in Coventry. She is also a regular commentator on the BBC, on Canadian Radio, and in The Times.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 97 reviews
January 31, 2021
Giveaway Win!
Trigger Warning: Female Genital Mutilation is described in what I consider necessary but extremely graphic detail.
Rape, Domestic Violence, Suicide, Mental Health, and more that I'm sure missed my notice.
I feel like this book should be bigger given everything that it covers.
The Women's History of the Modern World is quick to read history of important milestones in the birth of the feminist movement. Alot of territory is covered from The French Revolution, The Underground Railroad, early gender non conforming trailblazers, all the way up to Greta Thunberg and her fight to save the planet and the #Metoo movement.
History is most often told from the white male perspective and the contributions that women made or either hidden or given to a man.
Kick ass women are not new, they been here. They are simply finally getting their proper recognition.
I really enjoyed this book. My TBR is so much longer after this book. I discovered so many new amazing women and I need to find some very hard to find books.
A must read for not just women but the people who love women as well.
Trigger Warning: Female Genital Mutilation is described in what I consider necessary but extremely graphic detail.
Rape, Domestic Violence, Suicide, Mental Health, and more that I'm sure missed my notice.
I feel like this book should be bigger given everything that it covers.
The Women's History of the Modern World is quick to read history of important milestones in the birth of the feminist movement. Alot of territory is covered from The French Revolution, The Underground Railroad, early gender non conforming trailblazers, all the way up to Greta Thunberg and her fight to save the planet and the #Metoo movement.
History is most often told from the white male perspective and the contributions that women made or either hidden or given to a man.
Kick ass women are not new, they been here. They are simply finally getting their proper recognition.
I really enjoyed this book. My TBR is so much longer after this book. I discovered so many new amazing women and I need to find some very hard to find books.
A must read for not just women but the people who love women as well.
March 30, 2021
Beyond disappointing, this is a dangerously omissive and racist book.
I realize that no book is or can be a monolith. Even the best book claiming to be a “Women's History of the Modern World” would necessarily contain omissions; there's just no way to put all the information in one bound volume. But in the end, it is the author's choice of what makes the cut—and perhaps more dangerously, what doesn’t.
As I was reading, there were several times that I stopped and searched the internet for reviews. I was having trouble with the content, and like any good millennial, I headed to the web to seek out context and other opinions. I was confused to find mostly positive and even rave reviews of this book—not one review that I read discussed the issues that I was having.
The problem is this: there is no discussion of race or racism.
Though Black social justice advocates and other figures are mentioned (minimally) throughout, there is no focus on Blackness and racial inequality as each relates to feminism and women’s history. The book also only minimally mentions LGBTQ+ advocates and offers no focus on the fight for trans rights. The book does not engage with feminist thought at all, radical or otherwise, and maybe that’s fine. It is only a history book. But to completely ignore the harm that the first, second, etc., waves of feminism have done to Black women is inexcusable. The exclusion of women of color from a narrative supposedly about women’s history is inexcusable. This is not about book about women’s history: this is a book about white women’s accomplishments and white feminism.
Beyond this fundamental issue, I also found the scope of the book chaotic. It begins at the French Revolution and meanders through the chapters to modern(ish) day, focusing mainly on the US and Western Europe but sometimes bouncing all over the world. It focuses mostly on the political issues and social movements, though there are some asides to discuss culture that ended up feeling misplaced and unbalanced. There seems to be little rhyme or reason for why some women or events are discussed thoroughly, other simply mentioned, and others excluded.
And I do have issues with some information that was excluded. Let’s just look at one example. Margaret Sanger, discussed extensively in chapter 5 and also mentioned later on, is most well-known as a feminist advocate who was the founder of Planned Parenthood and who coined the term “birth control.” But she also left behind an uglier legacy, one where she championed for eugenics and was anti-abortion. She was racist, no matter how some historians have tried to smooth that over, saying that her views about eugenics weren’t necessarily about race. Um, they were, and there’s plenty of specific examples, including her speaking at a KKK rally and advocating for sterilization of Black people in a pamphlet she titled “The Negro Project.” What might Miles’s book have to say on the less savory (to put it mildly) aspects of Sanger’s beliefs? She doesn’t mention any of it. Not even a sentence, not even a footnote. The same thing happens when Charlotte Perkins Gilman comes up briefly—no mention of her xenophobic and white supremacist views, only praise and accolades. I’m sure these are not the only instances of these kinds of omissions, and that makes me beyond unwilling to trust this book. Should we throw out figures like Sanger and Gilman wholesale, never learning about their influence? Perhaps. But if we do decide to talk about their accomplishments, equal time should be given to their failures. Why are we so content to sweep things like this under the rug? We can’t learn from history if all we are given is a whitewashed version of it.
For a final critique, I’ll take a brief look at the writing. Though Miles has a compelling narrative style, I often had trouble with the tone—switching from informative to sarcastic to jubilant to contemptuous all hardly without any pause. It gave me a bit of whiplash, and I was often confused by the complete vitriol that seemed like it was meant to whip up the readers’ emotions rather than convey fact. I’m not saying that history should be boring, but at the same time, I am not here to be emotionally manipulated.
I am by no means an expert. I don’t read history books that often and my antiracist education is still in its infancy. But the glaring, problematic nature of this book cannot be ignored.
My next historical read is going to be A Black Women's History of the United States by Daina Ramey Berry and Kali Nicole Gross. I urge readers to check out Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot by Mikki Kendall if they’d like to learn more about intersectional feminism and why until we see the needs of Black women, Indigenous women, and other women of color as feminist issues, there is no equality for women.
I received a copy of this book to read and review from the publisher.
I realize that no book is or can be a monolith. Even the best book claiming to be a “Women's History of the Modern World” would necessarily contain omissions; there's just no way to put all the information in one bound volume. But in the end, it is the author's choice of what makes the cut—and perhaps more dangerously, what doesn’t.
As I was reading, there were several times that I stopped and searched the internet for reviews. I was having trouble with the content, and like any good millennial, I headed to the web to seek out context and other opinions. I was confused to find mostly positive and even rave reviews of this book—not one review that I read discussed the issues that I was having.
The problem is this: there is no discussion of race or racism.
Though Black social justice advocates and other figures are mentioned (minimally) throughout, there is no focus on Blackness and racial inequality as each relates to feminism and women’s history. The book also only minimally mentions LGBTQ+ advocates and offers no focus on the fight for trans rights. The book does not engage with feminist thought at all, radical or otherwise, and maybe that’s fine. It is only a history book. But to completely ignore the harm that the first, second, etc., waves of feminism have done to Black women is inexcusable. The exclusion of women of color from a narrative supposedly about women’s history is inexcusable. This is not about book about women’s history: this is a book about white women’s accomplishments and white feminism.
Beyond this fundamental issue, I also found the scope of the book chaotic. It begins at the French Revolution and meanders through the chapters to modern(ish) day, focusing mainly on the US and Western Europe but sometimes bouncing all over the world. It focuses mostly on the political issues and social movements, though there are some asides to discuss culture that ended up feeling misplaced and unbalanced. There seems to be little rhyme or reason for why some women or events are discussed thoroughly, other simply mentioned, and others excluded.
And I do have issues with some information that was excluded. Let’s just look at one example. Margaret Sanger, discussed extensively in chapter 5 and also mentioned later on, is most well-known as a feminist advocate who was the founder of Planned Parenthood and who coined the term “birth control.” But she also left behind an uglier legacy, one where she championed for eugenics and was anti-abortion. She was racist, no matter how some historians have tried to smooth that over, saying that her views about eugenics weren’t necessarily about race. Um, they were, and there’s plenty of specific examples, including her speaking at a KKK rally and advocating for sterilization of Black people in a pamphlet she titled “The Negro Project.” What might Miles’s book have to say on the less savory (to put it mildly) aspects of Sanger’s beliefs? She doesn’t mention any of it. Not even a sentence, not even a footnote. The same thing happens when Charlotte Perkins Gilman comes up briefly—no mention of her xenophobic and white supremacist views, only praise and accolades. I’m sure these are not the only instances of these kinds of omissions, and that makes me beyond unwilling to trust this book. Should we throw out figures like Sanger and Gilman wholesale, never learning about their influence? Perhaps. But if we do decide to talk about their accomplishments, equal time should be given to their failures. Why are we so content to sweep things like this under the rug? We can’t learn from history if all we are given is a whitewashed version of it.
For a final critique, I’ll take a brief look at the writing. Though Miles has a compelling narrative style, I often had trouble with the tone—switching from informative to sarcastic to jubilant to contemptuous all hardly without any pause. It gave me a bit of whiplash, and I was often confused by the complete vitriol that seemed like it was meant to whip up the readers’ emotions rather than convey fact. I’m not saying that history should be boring, but at the same time, I am not here to be emotionally manipulated.
I am by no means an expert. I don’t read history books that often and my antiracist education is still in its infancy. But the glaring, problematic nature of this book cannot be ignored.
My next historical read is going to be A Black Women's History of the United States by Daina Ramey Berry and Kali Nicole Gross. I urge readers to check out Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot by Mikki Kendall if they’d like to learn more about intersectional feminism and why until we see the needs of Black women, Indigenous women, and other women of color as feminist issues, there is no equality for women.
I received a copy of this book to read and review from the publisher.
August 26, 2020
'Rebel Women' is a nice read and offers a clear overview of (Western) feminism. However, some gaps bothered me so much that I briefly thought about putting down the book. Yes, Margaret Sanger deserves praise for her contributions to anticonception. But it's important to note that she (like many others in that time) supported eugenics. Or the part where 'hundreds of women' died in the Vietnam war when it should read hundreds of American women - which reveals a very US-based perspective.
Nonetheless, Miles offers a very entertaining writing style and mentions interesting women I've never heard about before - even from my own country.
Nonetheless, Miles offers a very entertaining writing style and mentions interesting women I've never heard about before - even from my own country.
March 5, 2021
It's Women's History Month!
The Women's History of the Modern World is a concise history of important events in the history of women. It covers everything from the battle for voting rights and reproductive rights to the #metoo movement. There are also brief bits about various women leaders throughout history like Eva Peron and Eleanor Roosevelt.
I just wish there was more coverage of BIPOC women in this book.
I won a copy of this book in a goodreads giveaway!
The Women's History of the Modern World is a concise history of important events in the history of women. It covers everything from the battle for voting rights and reproductive rights to the #metoo movement. There are also brief bits about various women leaders throughout history like Eva Peron and Eleanor Roosevelt.
I just wish there was more coverage of BIPOC women in this book.
I won a copy of this book in a goodreads giveaway!
October 22, 2020
The renegades, viragos and heroines who changed the world - from the French Revolution to today.
A special thank you to Jonathan Ball Publishers for gifting me this copy in exchange for an honest review.
This is the first book I read about women's history and I found it really interesting. I never knew that women fought such a fight for equality. This book is well researched and is filled with interesting facts and discoveries made by women, famous and infamous. Some of the pages are accompanied by illustrations or photographs. This book is about women who changed history, without these women of the past, women in the present wouldn't be where they are and achieved what they have achieved.
This was a difficult read for me since I prefer Historical Fiction or Fantasy, but this new genre taught me many things I didn't know. Names like Olympe de Gouges, Mary Wollstonecraft, the Grimké sisters, Sojourner Truth, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and many more, are names of women that made history. Women who fought for equality and freedom and sometimes paid the price with their lives.
We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.
What I found interesting is that the world's first known poet was a woman! I never knew. Her name was Enheduanna of Sumeria, south of modern Iraq around 2300 BCE. Another interesting yet disturbing topic mentioned was the Lotus Women. A girl's feet were broken bone by bone and reshaped by binding it to create tiny feet. This was practised for centuries! All of us are familiar with the famous nursery rhyme, Mary had a little Lamb, this nursery rhyme was written by a woman! Sarah Josepha Hale. For the football fans, in 1895 Lady Florence Dixie founded the British Ladies Football Club and became its first President. Even though men found women weak and only saw them as machines to bear children, women came handy in the Second World War. Women were used as spies and no one suspected them, men never gave women a second thought.
If you enjoy facts, this will be a great read for you. This book will even broaden your knowledge and in conversations, you'll be able to say "Did you know in 1800...". My own country, South Africa, is mentioned in this book and throughout the book, I found the mentioned women very interesting. I have a new point of view and respect about women's freedom, about what we're allowed to do, things that women of the past fought for years to do.
A special thank you to Jonathan Ball Publishers for the opportunity to review this book.
This review is posted on my blog:
https://willowscornerbook.wordpress.c...
March 6, 2021
This was a really interesting history book. A very enjoyable and educational read. Like Peter Frankopans the Silk Road that looked at history from an eastern perspective, this book looked at the history of the last 200 years from the women's perspective. One of the main points was the struggle for equality. And to achieve this women needed to get the vote. But they quickly realized that even with the vote, it would be a hard struggle for women to achieve equality. Issues like abortions, discrimination, sexual assault would continue to be issues that women deal with until this day.
This book spent some time going through the events in history showing that while women were not always mentioned, they were always active participants. Women performed many of the same tasks that men did, and they did it against all odds. They were freedom fighters, soldiers, medics, pilots, scientists, writers. And post WW2 more and more women reached positions of political and economic power.
This book mentioned a lot of very interesting women. Some of them I knew, while some I never heard of before: Olympe de Gouges, Florence Nightingale, Lakshmi Bai, Harriet Tubman, Evita Peron, Eleanor Roosevelt, Rosa Parks, Marie Curie, Betty Friedan, Gloria Steinem, Winnie Mandela, Indira Gandhi, Jiang Qing and so many more. This book mentions so many women from all works of life. It's almost impossible to mention them all here.
I would really recommend this book. It's always good to see history from other perspectives. And this book does it in a really entertaining way. It never got boring.
This book spent some time going through the events in history showing that while women were not always mentioned, they were always active participants. Women performed many of the same tasks that men did, and they did it against all odds. They were freedom fighters, soldiers, medics, pilots, scientists, writers. And post WW2 more and more women reached positions of political and economic power.
This book mentioned a lot of very interesting women. Some of them I knew, while some I never heard of before: Olympe de Gouges, Florence Nightingale, Lakshmi Bai, Harriet Tubman, Evita Peron, Eleanor Roosevelt, Rosa Parks, Marie Curie, Betty Friedan, Gloria Steinem, Winnie Mandela, Indira Gandhi, Jiang Qing and so many more. This book mentions so many women from all works of life. It's almost impossible to mention them all here.
I would really recommend this book. It's always good to see history from other perspectives. And this book does it in a really entertaining way. It never got boring.
November 29, 2020
Miles's latest work is challenging to read and to review: although it is well-researched (a few of her claims, such as a nullified first marriage of JFK, are not widely accepted), the tone is informal and snarky, more like an extended essay than a scholarly treatise. Moreover, its progression is uneven; it reminds the reader of a list of superlatives -- sometimes it involves bulleted lists -- that occasionally dives into greater detail. Suffrage is the one theme that gives the work some structure. It is doubtful that The Women's History of the Modern World adds anything new to the discussion.
August 19, 2023
Absolutely revolutionary. These badass women worked and sacrificed for each step of our progress toward equality. Thanks to these women we can wear pants, vote, have a career, own a home, control our own bodies, plan to have a family (or not), etc. I was amazed by how many of these people I have never heard of... Carrie Chapman Catt helped to give American women the right to vote. Why have I never heard of her??? She should have high schools named after her. Anyway, I was very inspired by this book full of heroines from around the globe. It starts with the French Revolution in the 1790s and goes all the way up to the #MeToo movement. It is like a mini-course in Women's Studies. Highest of recommendations!
November 14, 2025
Close to 5 stars. Wow! Read this book!
April 19, 2021
After reading Miles' Who Cooked the Last Supper? The Women's History of the World a few years ago, I was really excited when I saw she had followed up and wrote something with a modern focus. Ultimately, however, while this book is definitely intriguing, interesting, and (at times) horrifying, there are some major issues and gaps that make several sections of this book at best irresponsibly written and at worst casually racist and ignorant of the intersection between race, class, and gender. And honestly, after spending the last several years reading and writing on colonialism and feminism for my degree, I think if I revisited Who Cooked the Last Supper? I think I'd be likely to find the same problems.
First of all, this can be seen as more of a The Women's History of the (White) Western World, with an occasional anecdote or reference to women in the Global South. Miles does acknowledge in her introduction that this book is primarily focused on the west, because that is the where her area of research is, but given her shortcomings in connecting colonialism and imperialism to feminism when she does have an occasional foray into non-western history, this defense falls short. It might have been better to simply make this book a straight-forward history of women in the west, so she could have perhaps spent a significant more time not ignoring any intersectional analysis of western feminist history.
Very early in the book, Miles plays very fast and loose with comparing American slavery to the circumstances of American women, and claims women should have felt solidarity with the anti-slavery movement because of this--as if there wasn't a large percentage of white American women who either benefited from slavery or were entirely apathetic. When discussing the suffragette movement, she portrays a movement in which race had no part, women were simply banding together in the drive for collective enfranchisement. Yet its clear to anyone who looks at historical accounts of the movement that many white women relegated their black suffragette counterparts to the back of the line in fear. Miles spends a significant amount of time discussing contraception, but not the racist history of eugenics, racism, and xenophobia that are deeply entrenched in this period of history.
I think that Miles desperately wanted to focus on the good women did, but in doing so erased their actions that were setbacks to women of other races and classes. Margaret Thatcher, for example, is only mentioned as a staunch anti-feminist when Miles discusses her rise to power as the UK's first female Prime Minister, not as a woman many modern feminist academics would likely describe as one of the top ten women in power over the course of the last century to set back women's rights.
On the surface, this is a good and intriguing book--but only if I wasn't able or willing to critically think while I was reading it.
First of all, this can be seen as more of a The Women's History of the (White) Western World, with an occasional anecdote or reference to women in the Global South. Miles does acknowledge in her introduction that this book is primarily focused on the west, because that is the where her area of research is, but given her shortcomings in connecting colonialism and imperialism to feminism when she does have an occasional foray into non-western history, this defense falls short. It might have been better to simply make this book a straight-forward history of women in the west, so she could have perhaps spent a significant more time not ignoring any intersectional analysis of western feminist history.
Very early in the book, Miles plays very fast and loose with comparing American slavery to the circumstances of American women, and claims women should have felt solidarity with the anti-slavery movement because of this--as if there wasn't a large percentage of white American women who either benefited from slavery or were entirely apathetic. When discussing the suffragette movement, she portrays a movement in which race had no part, women were simply banding together in the drive for collective enfranchisement. Yet its clear to anyone who looks at historical accounts of the movement that many white women relegated their black suffragette counterparts to the back of the line in fear. Miles spends a significant amount of time discussing contraception, but not the racist history of eugenics, racism, and xenophobia that are deeply entrenched in this period of history.
I think that Miles desperately wanted to focus on the good women did, but in doing so erased their actions that were setbacks to women of other races and classes. Margaret Thatcher, for example, is only mentioned as a staunch anti-feminist when Miles discusses her rise to power as the UK's first female Prime Minister, not as a woman many modern feminist academics would likely describe as one of the top ten women in power over the course of the last century to set back women's rights.
On the surface, this is a good and intriguing book--but only if I wasn't able or willing to critically think while I was reading it.
March 15, 2024
After 160 pages, I can't say I didn't try...
Due to flagrant inaccuracies and gross omissions, I will not be finishing this book. Additionally, the alarming number of five- and four-star reader reviews have compelled me to leave a review, an unprecedented reaction on my part.
I am not a historian or an expert in any academic field, but even my casual consumption of U.S. history surrounding human rights campaigns was enough to trigger multiple red flags while I plodded through the author's clumsy structure. Folktales, perpetuated misinformation, and hearsay were presented as truths with no caveats. There is a "List of Books Consulted and Suggestions for Further Reading" at the end but no citations or footnotes throughout the book to connect the information conveyed to its source material.
The title of this book is problematic because it advertises an all-inclusive view that is not represented in the contents. The author admitting in the preface that "this account concentrates heavily on the Western world" doesn't forgive the title or the haphazardly written-in people of color. Maybe it should have been called The White Women's History of the Modern World?
Maybe then there would have been room for comprehensive histories in place of continued lies? While the anecdotal presentation of the information may be ideal for cramming a lot into a digestible portion for the masses, that still could have been accomplished without excluding pivotal facts about the histories of the women dubbed "heroines" by an author who clearly subscribes to the notion that you shouldn't actually meet/know your idols.
Due to flagrant inaccuracies and gross omissions, I will not be finishing this book. Additionally, the alarming number of five- and four-star reader reviews have compelled me to leave a review, an unprecedented reaction on my part.
I am not a historian or an expert in any academic field, but even my casual consumption of U.S. history surrounding human rights campaigns was enough to trigger multiple red flags while I plodded through the author's clumsy structure. Folktales, perpetuated misinformation, and hearsay were presented as truths with no caveats. There is a "List of Books Consulted and Suggestions for Further Reading" at the end but no citations or footnotes throughout the book to connect the information conveyed to its source material.
The title of this book is problematic because it advertises an all-inclusive view that is not represented in the contents. The author admitting in the preface that "this account concentrates heavily on the Western world" doesn't forgive the title or the haphazardly written-in people of color. Maybe it should have been called The White Women's History of the Modern World?
Maybe then there would have been room for comprehensive histories in place of continued lies? While the anecdotal presentation of the information may be ideal for cramming a lot into a digestible portion for the masses, that still could have been accomplished without excluding pivotal facts about the histories of the women dubbed "heroines" by an author who clearly subscribes to the notion that you shouldn't actually meet/know your idols.
May 12, 2021
“To grasp the struggle rebel women everywhere had to face at this time, we must remember that there was nowhere in the world where women were free. Not a single soul could tell of any country, any institution, any community, were women were not subject to men. To believe in and to follow the example of Olympe de Gouges and Mary Wollenstonecraft meant accepting that everything ‘good’ people have been brought up to understand about men and women was at best a profound illusion, and at worst one great lie.”
I wish I could articulate something better/more specific than "READ THIS" but I'm not sure where to start! This behemoth spans hundreds of years, though only a handful of countries, naming women of note (both good and bad) who have rallied for women's rights, contributed discoveries and inventions to science and math and beyond, lead governments, inspired other women, and who have generally been cool as shit.
“In the still unfolding scroll of women’s achievements in the modern era, winning control of their bodies is a major in ongoing task, because it forms or deforms the whole of their lives. One of the triumphs of the last 200 years has been the progress made toward freeing women from being seen as prisoners of their biology and also subject to men’s views of how women should look and behave.”
I wish I could articulate something better/more specific than "READ THIS" but I'm not sure where to start! This behemoth spans hundreds of years, though only a handful of countries, naming women of note (both good and bad) who have rallied for women's rights, contributed discoveries and inventions to science and math and beyond, lead governments, inspired other women, and who have generally been cool as shit.
“In the still unfolding scroll of women’s achievements in the modern era, winning control of their bodies is a major in ongoing task, because it forms or deforms the whole of their lives. One of the triumphs of the last 200 years has been the progress made toward freeing women from being seen as prisoners of their biology and also subject to men’s views of how women should look and behave.”
September 14, 2021
It is incredible to me that every chronicle of centuries of Women’s History that I read continues to expand the boundaries of that history. The silences that are brought to light continue to compound and it’s exciting to learn more of these stories in a way that breaks from stodgy academic writing and breathes life into these herstories.
Read
February 7, 2021In her new history of “famous, infamous, and unsung women,” Rosalind Miles takes an (often deservedly) irreverent and sarcastic tone as she recounts the women throughout the past two hundred years who resisted attempts to curtail their involvement in politics and spheres outside the home.
Unfortunately, the stories of many of these women had been lost to history until now, but Miles’s account corrects the record and provides inspiration to today’s feminists who are faced with increasingly dictatorial governments and leaders.
What’s frustrating, though, is that every move towards progress seems to be followed by a period of restrictive backlash. In fact, the earliest powers were female, though they soon were usurped by a belief in the superiority of the male (with photographs of phallic monuments to demonstrate). Though Miles does provide a general manifesto for the future, I wished it had more detailed options to escape the progress-backlash cycle.
The content of the book, though, full of anecdotal history, was fascinating, and I learned about women in history I’d not heard of before. I was particularly interested in how women participated in the French Revolution and in the early UK labor movements—and how the Code of Napoleon stripped women of their rights.
I also liked how so many of the leaders in the labor, abolitionist, suffrage, and women’s rights movements developed friendships that became integral to their activism such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony.
The Women’s History of the Modern World has a lighter tone and is less U.S.-centered than many similar histories. While it is still focused on the Western world (particularly Europe), it didn’t ignore revolutions in other regions that promised and failed to deliver equality and power to women. I definitely encourage those interested in a smart, non-scholarly history to add this to their reading lists!
Thank you to NetGalley and Custom House/William Morrow for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Unfortunately, the stories of many of these women had been lost to history until now, but Miles’s account corrects the record and provides inspiration to today’s feminists who are faced with increasingly dictatorial governments and leaders.
What’s frustrating, though, is that every move towards progress seems to be followed by a period of restrictive backlash. In fact, the earliest powers were female, though they soon were usurped by a belief in the superiority of the male (with photographs of phallic monuments to demonstrate). Though Miles does provide a general manifesto for the future, I wished it had more detailed options to escape the progress-backlash cycle.
The content of the book, though, full of anecdotal history, was fascinating, and I learned about women in history I’d not heard of before. I was particularly interested in how women participated in the French Revolution and in the early UK labor movements—and how the Code of Napoleon stripped women of their rights.
I also liked how so many of the leaders in the labor, abolitionist, suffrage, and women’s rights movements developed friendships that became integral to their activism such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony.
The Women’s History of the Modern World has a lighter tone and is less U.S.-centered than many similar histories. While it is still focused on the Western world (particularly Europe), it didn’t ignore revolutions in other regions that promised and failed to deliver equality and power to women. I definitely encourage those interested in a smart, non-scholarly history to add this to their reading lists!
Thank you to NetGalley and Custom House/William Morrow for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
September 21, 2023
I was reading the reviews of this book and people really don’t like this book because it focuses more heavily on the western world. It’s such irony because the author; a female historian, point blank in the first 30 words of the book writes her area of study is the western world. Would the same critique be made if a man wrote the history of the modern world? My guess is no.
I thought this book was a good gloss over the last 450 years touching on the major highlights. Miles has a good sense of when to pump humor into the historical narrative and when to keep things serious and strictly the facts. And do not listen to the other reviews she does discuss the history of women of color and non western women, but once again it’s not her area of study and she does not speak out of turn.
Overall I think you need a good basic understanding of modern history to enjoy this book but truly I was laughing out loud at some passages and I think that is honestly a triumph, no male historian has ever achieved that that in my experience.
I thought this book was a good gloss over the last 450 years touching on the major highlights. Miles has a good sense of when to pump humor into the historical narrative and when to keep things serious and strictly the facts. And do not listen to the other reviews she does discuss the history of women of color and non western women, but once again it’s not her area of study and she does not speak out of turn.
Overall I think you need a good basic understanding of modern history to enjoy this book but truly I was laughing out loud at some passages and I think that is honestly a triumph, no male historian has ever achieved that that in my experience.
June 5, 2021
Lots of great information and special credit given to a lot of unknown women. I enjoyed the facts but not the writing style. Needs a better index so it could serve as a reference.
Read
December 3, 2022SO GOOD SO EMPOWERING <33
August 13, 2025
4.5 rounded up
January 20, 2021
First I would like to state that I received this book through the Goodreads giveaway in exchange for an honest review. I would like to thank the author for giving me this opportunity and honor in being able to read this book. When I received this book I began reading it at once. I really enjoy the authors writing style, pulls you into the book from the very beginning and you don't want to put the book down. It kept me on the edge of my seat reading from cover to cover. All the characters are very well portrayed though out. When you are finished you wish you weren't. A most wonderful read and I highly recommend this book
August 17, 2021
“My fellow citizens, is it not time we women had a revolution too? “ - Olympe De Gouges
Powerful, Informative, and inspiring.
Powerful, Informative, and inspiring.
January 11, 2022
Every woman must read this book.
March 3, 2021
Stories of women from the French Revolution to the #MeToo movement who were working for equality and women's rights throughout the world. The Authors writing style, snarky humor, and format of interconnected short vignettes made this an entertaining book that you could sit down and read for an hour or pick up and read for just a few minutes. Told with a feminist perspective this book was well researched and easy to read making it a great pop-history book. I received a free ARC of this book through the Goodreads First Reads giveaways.
July 26, 2021
2.5 rounded up!
I have to give credit where credit is due, and that credit is how Miles jam packed so much history into 400ish pages. With that being said, because there was so much information to take in, it did read more like a history book and wasn’t easy to digest. I had to take a lot of breaks.
All in all, I enjoyed the content of this book. I mean, it’s nothing I didn’t already know, just a different time frame and women I’ve never heard of. But it was so much that reading this almost felt like a chore. As much as I love history books, sometimes it’s really hard for me to digest straight history over many, many years.
The book is written in a snarky and informal voice, but something about the clash of stories made the book difficult to follow.
Content Warnings: Violence, Misogyny, Rape, Suicide, Female Genital Mutilation, Mental Health
I have to give credit where credit is due, and that credit is how Miles jam packed so much history into 400ish pages. With that being said, because there was so much information to take in, it did read more like a history book and wasn’t easy to digest. I had to take a lot of breaks.
All in all, I enjoyed the content of this book. I mean, it’s nothing I didn’t already know, just a different time frame and women I’ve never heard of. But it was so much that reading this almost felt like a chore. As much as I love history books, sometimes it’s really hard for me to digest straight history over many, many years.
The book is written in a snarky and informal voice, but something about the clash of stories made the book difficult to follow.
Content Warnings: Violence, Misogyny, Rape, Suicide, Female Genital Mutilation, Mental Health
August 6, 2021
Lots of errors and this is very ethnocentric. If you want a history of women in Europe and America, then it’s ok, but go to the source material and don’t rely on her POV. Disappointed in the whole thing.
September 1, 2025
I enjoyed this book very much. It's a lively and energetic overview of women's history since the French Revolution. Notice my use of the word *overview* here - I read several others' reviews of this book and noticed a lot of criticism directed towards what was left out of this book. Yes, the title of this book might be a bit sensationalized as it appears to be a history of the last two hundred years. That's a tall order. But in the preface to the book, Dr. Miles explicitly acknowledged that she was not trying to cover every single moment in women's history (this literally is not possible), but rather the broader strokes. Personally, I admired this overt & outset honesty in where this book would inevitably fall short.
I have a big takeaway from this book that is not necessarily related to its content. Dr. Miles really made me think about the emotive presentation of facts and how sensitive topics are handled. She took a very enthusiastic tone throughout this book, which was deeply refreshing. A lot of the content in this book was disturbing and annoying and sexist and gross, yes, but it was presented with an optimistic and sometimes even humorous air. I laughed out loud several times while reading this book. I have read a lot in the discipline of women's history/gender studies, and historical content is often relayed with a demeaning, angry, or disheartened tone. I have empathized (and will continue to) with these authors since they were handling such emotionally charged content. I support authors' rights to let their emotions live on the page. However, I think that an intentionally positive tone can be just as, if not more, impactful as its opposite. I don't think every gender studies book should imitate such a playful tone, of course not, but I will always support a shakeup of the status quo.
There are a LOT of women mentioned in this book - I would estimate that a new character is brought up every 1-2 pages, which makes this a very fast-paced book. I think it could have used a bit more organization, but overall, I'm impressed by Dr. Miles' ability to seamlessly move between the quantitative and qualitative. She's got a real strength in making history not just digestible but delicious.
Good stuff.
I have a big takeaway from this book that is not necessarily related to its content. Dr. Miles really made me think about the emotive presentation of facts and how sensitive topics are handled. She took a very enthusiastic tone throughout this book, which was deeply refreshing. A lot of the content in this book was disturbing and annoying and sexist and gross, yes, but it was presented with an optimistic and sometimes even humorous air. I laughed out loud several times while reading this book. I have read a lot in the discipline of women's history/gender studies, and historical content is often relayed with a demeaning, angry, or disheartened tone. I have empathized (and will continue to) with these authors since they were handling such emotionally charged content. I support authors' rights to let their emotions live on the page. However, I think that an intentionally positive tone can be just as, if not more, impactful as its opposite. I don't think every gender studies book should imitate such a playful tone, of course not, but I will always support a shakeup of the status quo.
There are a LOT of women mentioned in this book - I would estimate that a new character is brought up every 1-2 pages, which makes this a very fast-paced book. I think it could have used a bit more organization, but overall, I'm impressed by Dr. Miles' ability to seamlessly move between the quantitative and qualitative. She's got a real strength in making history not just digestible but delicious.
Good stuff.
February 14, 2021
I just finished The Women's History of the Modern World - really enjoyed it and learned a lot. Rosalind Miles highlights rebellious and influential women starting with the French Revolution and tracking up till the modern #MeToo movement. Historic movers and shakers are grouped into chapters thematically, with events progressing in-chapter chronologically. A lot of focus on voting rights, labor rights, and access to contraception/abortion.
American readers will be familiar with Susan B. Anthony, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Betty Friedan - however Miles includes insights to soldiers, reformers, inventors and political leaders from around the globe. Examples like: 17th century Angolan queen Nzinga Mbande who fended off Portuguese colonial invaders; WWII Soviet fighter pilot Lily Litvak the "White Rose of Stalingrad," who had been flying since fourteen, downed twelve German planes during her 168 combat missions; Belgian Resistance heroine spy Andree de Jongh who devised a secret plan which delivered six hundred downed pilots and Allied soldiers to safety in Spain.
This is a great read for someone who loves history and politics. I rated 4 stars instead of 5 because many of the figures are only covered in broad brushstrokes. At times I was hoping for a little more depth and background. Good thing I highlighted so I can check out biographies of the ones I want to learn more about. Because Miles covers a lot of ground and doesn't go too deep on anyone figure, you can read this book in short bursts or jump around from topic to topic.
I was lucky enough to receive an early copy via Goodreads Giveaways and William Morrow/Harper Collins publishers.
American readers will be familiar with Susan B. Anthony, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Betty Friedan - however Miles includes insights to soldiers, reformers, inventors and political leaders from around the globe. Examples like: 17th century Angolan queen Nzinga Mbande who fended off Portuguese colonial invaders; WWII Soviet fighter pilot Lily Litvak the "White Rose of Stalingrad," who had been flying since fourteen, downed twelve German planes during her 168 combat missions; Belgian Resistance heroine spy Andree de Jongh who devised a secret plan which delivered six hundred downed pilots and Allied soldiers to safety in Spain.
This is a great read for someone who loves history and politics. I rated 4 stars instead of 5 because many of the figures are only covered in broad brushstrokes. At times I was hoping for a little more depth and background. Good thing I highlighted so I can check out biographies of the ones I want to learn more about. Because Miles covers a lot of ground and doesn't go too deep on anyone figure, you can read this book in short bursts or jump around from topic to topic.
I was lucky enough to receive an early copy via Goodreads Giveaways and William Morrow/Harper Collins publishers.
February 27, 2022
DNF :(
((CAUTION FOR INDIGENOUS READERS: This review mentions an historical Indigenous Australian person, who is also mentioned in the book.))
I enjoyed what I read of this book, but as I continued on it became a bit dry. Maybe I just didn't like the layout of the writing. Personally, it would have flowed better in more clear cut chapters. I would describe it more as an overview of Western feminist history.
While the history was intriguing and definitely supplemented my knowledge of certain accounts, such as exploring the life of Bennelong, an Indigenous Australian women, I found the story rather vague or superficial at certain points. Understandably, the stories for some of the historical figures are from a while ago, and accounts may be scarce (I'm not an historian so I wouldn't know), but I feel like so many of those stories could have been explored a little further.
Nevertheless, you get a wonderfully empowering feeling reading about these strong, intelligent women who challenged what society thought and some of the utterly staggering commentary shared by entitled male leaders.
Having read a few other reviews once I decided to DNF this book, I saw a common theme including the lack of more diverse (specifically non-Western) feminist stories. I think it would be beneficial to readers interested in checking out this book to have read more on Eastern history and other feminist stories to engage with it better and view the book's writing more critically.
Either way, I'd say this is a good beginners introduction to feminist histories. I hope to finish it at a later date.
((CAUTION FOR INDIGENOUS READERS: This review mentions an historical Indigenous Australian person, who is also mentioned in the book.))
I enjoyed what I read of this book, but as I continued on it became a bit dry. Maybe I just didn't like the layout of the writing. Personally, it would have flowed better in more clear cut chapters. I would describe it more as an overview of Western feminist history.
While the history was intriguing and definitely supplemented my knowledge of certain accounts, such as exploring the life of Bennelong, an Indigenous Australian women, I found the story rather vague or superficial at certain points. Understandably, the stories for some of the historical figures are from a while ago, and accounts may be scarce (I'm not an historian so I wouldn't know), but I feel like so many of those stories could have been explored a little further.
Nevertheless, you get a wonderfully empowering feeling reading about these strong, intelligent women who challenged what society thought and some of the utterly staggering commentary shared by entitled male leaders.
Having read a few other reviews once I decided to DNF this book, I saw a common theme including the lack of more diverse (specifically non-Western) feminist stories. I think it would be beneficial to readers interested in checking out this book to have read more on Eastern history and other feminist stories to engage with it better and view the book's writing more critically.
Either way, I'd say this is a good beginners introduction to feminist histories. I hope to finish it at a later date.
May 24, 2021
If you want a quick almost 'breezy' history or a refresher course on what women have been doing oh since the last one hundred or so years ago than this is for you! I really enjoyed this history or 'Herstory' that is presented in an easy to fall into style - Miles makes this an almost fun book to read due to her quick and deft handling of a subject many do not like ( not me I love history!). Instead of getting bogged down in dates and minor details she zips through the history of 'radicals, rebels and everywomen' that contributed to us getting the vote, getting equal pay, social and academic recognition, justice and dignity. Despite this she still manages to convey the seriousness of what these women were up against and the dire consequences many faced - for standing up and demanding that women's rights be recognized along with 'men's' rights during the French Revolution Olympe de Georges fell out of favour of the ruling revolutionaries and lost her head. Her existence might have have been entirely forgotten if not for a collection of her letters and plays secretly preserved. Miles even makes the extra effort of spanning the globe and including Asian and African women who struggled to get power, share power and keep it. While at times it flagged I really enjoyed the ups and downs of this history and recommend it to anyone starting out or wanting more 'Herstory'
November 20, 2021
3.5*
TW: r*pe, domestic violence, FGM, force feeding, assault.
I think it’s really important to acknowledge that reading this book requires critical thinking and the knowledge that this is in no way a complete history.
Miles apologised in the foreword for the fact that that this book has a western focus, but I as I kept reading I found it really frustrating at the lack of intersectionality which is barely, if ever, acknowledged. Similarly, for a book this size, I find it really frustrating that there were only 3-5 pages on LGBTQIA+ issues, and of those pages majority were on Ellen DeGeneres (plus Miles somehow completely managed to forget about Stonewall which arguably should’ve been mentioned).
WOC are mentioned, but in the latter part of the book, many of those women are painted as villains with only a brief mention.
Overall this was a goodish book (despite losing me in the second half) but it requires a lot of additional research if you want to avoid feeding into the unconscious bias. By no means do I think Miles meant to be problematic, but what is missing from this book says a lot and shouldn’t be overlooked.
TW: r*pe, domestic violence, FGM, force feeding, assault.
I think it’s really important to acknowledge that reading this book requires critical thinking and the knowledge that this is in no way a complete history.
Miles apologised in the foreword for the fact that that this book has a western focus, but I as I kept reading I found it really frustrating at the lack of intersectionality which is barely, if ever, acknowledged. Similarly, for a book this size, I find it really frustrating that there were only 3-5 pages on LGBTQIA+ issues, and of those pages majority were on Ellen DeGeneres (plus Miles somehow completely managed to forget about Stonewall which arguably should’ve been mentioned).
WOC are mentioned, but in the latter part of the book, many of those women are painted as villains with only a brief mention.
Overall this was a goodish book (despite losing me in the second half) but it requires a lot of additional research if you want to avoid feeding into the unconscious bias. By no means do I think Miles meant to be problematic, but what is missing from this book says a lot and shouldn’t be overlooked.
March 29, 2021
Wow. Finished just in time for Women's History Month. Miles unpacks the fight for women's freedom over the past 200 years. There is a lot to unpack. Very well researched, full of information and very readable. I thoroughly enjoyed. I noticed a few reviewers who picked apart some of the women Miles chose to highlight. Most notably Margaret Sanger. I understand she was a supporter of eugenics, however, she was also integral in getting women the right to regulate their fertility. While we should not ignore her outdated and dangerous views, we also can not likewise ignore her contributions to the women's movement. After all this book is about Rebel Women and Sander certainly qualifies. Also note, not all of the women included in this book were on the right side of history. Miles also details women world leaders who were just as cruel and powerful as their male counterparts, and women who fought on the opposite side of women's liberation.
For a book about Rebel women, I feel like Miles accomplished her goal. I loved it, certainly filled my feminist craving.
For a book about Rebel women, I feel like Miles accomplished her goal. I loved it, certainly filled my feminist craving.
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