Books About Overlooked Women in History

You may not know who Frances Perkins is now, but her fight for workers’ rights is still a triumph benefiting society today. Born during the mid-19th century, Perkins moved to New York City in the early 1900s. She was inspired by her family and their passion to fight for the rights of the poor and working class citizens. When she wasn’t donating her time to others or furthering her education, she was an active participant in the Greenwich Village’s socialite scene. It’s there where she met a young Franklin D. Roosevelt while he was still climbing his political career. When Roosevelt took the White House, he made Perkins the first woman to serve as the United States Secretary of Labor. She is known for implementing social security and a minimum wage.

Based on true events and the true story of a legendary Cuban woman, Evangelina Cisneros, leading up to Cuba’s independence. A New York-based journalist, Grace Harrington, secures the story of a lifetime when she covers the uprisings in Cuba. As Harrington finds a way to infiltrate Cuba, she partners with a courier working with Cuban revolutionaries who helped her deliver messages to and from the United States. Together, both women seek to free a young woman named Evangelina Cisneros, who was unjustly imprisoned in Cuba for speaking out against the Spanish oppressors.

Here’s an unbelievable biography about a woman named Hatshepsut who took matters into her own hands when she could not birth any boy children to ensure her family’s legacy on the throne. Instead of accepting defeat, Hatshepsut chose to cross-dress and usher a new modern political strategy era that led to her ruling for over two decades. Despite her accomplishments as a ruler, she is nowhere near as popular as Cleopatra. Kara Cooney, author and associate professor of Egyptian art and architecture at UCLA, argues that patriarchy is one of the reasons why this female pharaoh is often not talked about more in history.

It takes courage to want to be a spy, but when freedom is on the line, desperate times call for desperate measures. Ady has always been a precocious girl, and her mother, Sanite, has always encouraged her daughter. Even though they are both enslaved to a man in New Orleans, they make the best of their time together as they dream of a brighter future. But when the two are separated, Ady is left to defend herself against a world she is not sure she is ready for. But as luck may have it, Ady meets a Free Black woman that ignites a fire inside her that she never knew she had. Now, as a spy for a secret society called the Daughters, Ady will have a better future even if she has to take it.

Who says women aren’t good in the S.T.E.M. fields? When it comes to the evolution of the internet, women contributors rarely come to mind. But that is no longer the case with this thought-provoking biography detailing the brilliant women who invented and revolutionized the way we use technology, including the internet. These overlooked sheroes range from women who made great progress in programming, such as Grace Hopper, a computer scientist who pioneered what we understand now as software development. Also included are women such as Ada Lovelace, who was the daughter of the mathematician Lord Byron.

As women’s reproductive rights continue to be challenged, it’s important to pay homage to the women who championed for the right to choose for all. During the 1970s in Chicago, when women needed access to women’s health care, it was well known to find and seek the Jane Collective. The Jane Collective served as an underground health facility where women could get quality reproductive services safely. The women who worked at the Jane Collective were women from all different backgrounds who united for one cause. In this novel, three separate women are all impacted by this movement as their lives and ideologies are tested by the harsh reality of what it means to have limited freedoms in America as a woman.

Can you believe there was a time when women wearing pants in public was a crime? Shortly after the turn of the 20th century, Luisa Capetillo was arrested for doing just that in Puerto Rico. At the time, the rebellious act was seen as morally wrong based on the antiquated gender expectations during that period. But Capetillo did more than usher the first wave of feminism in Latin America and the Caribbean. She was a staunch supporter of labor rights and socialism. With Capetillo’s work now translated, her writings reveal her beliefs in championing workers’ rights and bringing new ideas on what equality can look like in society.

Based on the incredible life of Iranian film director and poet Forugh Farrokhzhad, this book paints a vibrant picture of a woman who was a hero to many and a threat to those who chose to weaponize power to oppress others. Her life wasn’t without controversy either. Her poetry centers on feminine sensuality, independence, and liberation. Despite living a short life, she achieved what others could only dream about. After being forced to marry, Farrokhzhad separated as soon as she could and dedicated her life to being the voice for women who never felt heard. Her untimely passing and her work birthed the feminist movement in Iran, which led authorities to ban her work in her home country for years.

This book highlights two extraordinary women: First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and the civil rights activist and educator Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune. While most are familiar with the First Lady, not many people are aware of the woman who was noted the “First Lady of Negro America.” Bethune was an advocate for women’s rights, education, and civil rights, and she also had a close friendship with one of the most powerful women in America. Unfortunately, this made both ladies targets of both the media and influential figures. As the First Lady moved to cement her own legacy, it was the counsel of Dr. Bethune that helped shape the First Lady’s politics.

Take an emotional journey as this fictional Black journalist uses her research skills to uncover the unsolved murder of her great-grandfather in Birmingham, Alabama, when Jim Crow laws were enacted. A young Detroit Press journalist named Meghan McKenzie is ready to confirm whether the tales about her great-grandfather, Robert Lee Harrington, are true. She knows he was a carpenter during the Great Depression era. She also knows that, during that time, Birmingham was a popular location for people to find work in the steel industry. This dual timeline POV brings Meghan’s journey and the risks she faces while uncovering the truth about her family.

This war novel centers on WWII and the everyday women who survived it. One American woman named Virgina ignores the pleas of her family and friends back home to stay by her husband’s side in France while they are under occupation. Violette Szabo is a young woman who has seen the horrors that the Nazis are capable of. Despite her youth, she is determined to join those who want freedom for all. As war continues to spread throughout Europe, these two ladies find their destinies are intertwined when they both end up at the Ravensbrück concentration camp. Together, they find a way to survive and become the new faces of what bravery looks like.

Anna May Wong is considered the first Chinese American movie star in Hollywood. Wong struck mainstream appeal and success in the silent movie The Thief of Bagdad in 1924. She then became an inspiration and fashion icon when she embraced what is now known as the flapper look. However, Wong refused to be racially typecasted, so in protest, she left America for Europe. She expanded her thespian skills, and when she returned to America, she became the voice of Asian Americans who wanted better representation for themselves in media. Celebrate the glamorous life of a movie star who refused to be boxed in.

Based on the true events about the outbreak of tuber­culosis that occurred in New York City in 1929, a group of heroic Black nurses traveled from the South to help the city in its darkest time. The city promised the group of nurses they would be treated better than they were being treated in the South. However, the nurses were not aware that they were only summoned after a sea of white nurses quit because of the deadly outbreak. The nurses quickly found themselves in a new city, living and working under less than desirable conditions as they were given the deadly task of working with the city’s sickest and poorest citizens.

Imagine having two sisters who share your last name but have opposite life experiences. That’s the case for Harriet Jefferson, the half-sister of Martha and Maria Jefferson, who are all the daughters of President Thomas Jefferson. While Harriet Jefferson, who was biracial (her mother was Sally Hemmings), lived as an enslaved child at Jefferson’s Monticello plantation, her white sisters enjoyed the freedom of being educated in France with their father. Harriet did reap some privileges, such as receiving an education, and for a short while, Harriet left Monticello with the help of Jefferson, who gifted her $50 ( the equivalent today to $1300). Despite scarce records of her life after leaving Jefferson, there is speculation that Harriet created a new identity. This book compares the lives of these women in early America as it relates to race and class.