Author(s): Zing Tsjeng

History

Forgotten Women uncovers the lost histories of the influential women who have refused over hundreds of years to accept the hand they've been dealt and, as a result, have formed, shaped and changed the course of our futures

Forgotten Women shines a well-deserved spotlight on women of accomplishment in various fields -scientists, leaders, writers and artists - who have been forgotten or overlooked, uncovering the lost herstories of influential women who have formed, shaped and changed the course of our futures. Everyone knows a forgotten woman. The ones we hold close to our hearts, the rebels we raise in conversation, the pioneering early feminists who have been overlooked for too long. Forgotten Women redresses the balance and puts their achievements firmly back on the map. As Virginia Woolf said, "For most of history, anonymous was a woman."

LEADERS celebrated include Shirley Chisholm, the first African-American woman elected to Congress and who ran for US president in 1972; Grace O'Malley, the 16th century Irish pirate queen; Sylvia Rivera, a pioneering figure in the transgender rights movement; and Agent 355, the unknown rebel spy who played a pivotal role in the American Revolution.

Pioneering and innovative female SCIENTIST from across history and scientific disciplines - including mathematics, genetics, technology, chemistry astronomy, physical and medicine - include the likes of Rosalind Franklin, who uncovered the structure of DNA but whose work was attributed to her male colleagues; Ruby Hirose, whose pioneering research led to the polio vaccine.

Unsung genius female WRITERS include the Girl Stunt Reporters, who went undercover to write exposés on the ills of 1890s America; Aemilia Lanyer, the contemporary of Shakespeare whose polemical re-writing of Paradise Lost is regarded as one of the earliest feminist works of literature; and Sarojini Naidu, the freedom fighter and 'Nightingale of India' whose poetry echoed her political desire for Indian independence.
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ARTISTS given their due include Camille Claudel, the extraordinarily talented sculptor who was always unfairly overshadowed by her lover, Rodin; Baroness Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven, who has been claimed as the true originator of Marcel Duchamp's Fountain.

Forgotten Women shines a light on these unsung heroes whose contributions have changed our world.