Countless books have been written about prominent women in Greece and Rome, so we know all about Medea, Sappho, Lucretia, Boudica and Cleopatra and their significant actions and achievements. This book extends the invaluable story of women in early history to pre-classical civilisations, ancient Egypt and Israel to include prominent women in those civilisations as well, thus introducing them, and their roles and places in their respective societies and social histories, to a wide audience.

The aim of this book is to demonstrate how 150 women (most little known) significantly influenced, informed and changed the worlds in which they lived. We show how a small, disparate body of women in each of these periods, united by their determination and strength of mind, were able to break free from the norms and values of the patriarchal societies which confined and restricted them to make a valuable difference to their individual societies, cultures, politics and foreign policies; in so doing they have changed perceptions of women and the role women were subsequently allowed to play. Some of the women are well known, others less so. The book reinforces the reputations of those who have endured popularity over the centuries and, where necessary, realigns those reputations after years of prejudice and the vicissitudes of sexism, misogyny, Hollywood and sensationalist literature. For those who have been written out of mainstream history and relegated to footnotes at best, this is a chance to re-introduce them and the impact they have made on their and our world. Their relative anonymity does not mean that they are less important - on the contrary, they are equally significant and the more we know about them, the better if we want a rounded picture of the civilisations to which they contributed so much.

Each chapter is followed by suggestions for further reading to encourage further research.