This has exactly the same premise and layout as the book I listened to a few weeks ago by the same author, 'A History of Britain in 21 Women'. Mini biographies of 21 women admired by the author for their impact on their community, country and/or world, but this time with an international outlook.

Once again, a wide variety of women are depicted in terms of ethnic diversity, historical period and fields of expertise. From Hatshepsut to Hillary Clinton, the author's clear admiration of her subjects shines through. I will admit to not knowing enough about most of the women to be able to determine whether she is providing a 'rose tinted' picture of their stories (I have read some comments that suggest she does not mention some more controversial or damaging parts of her subjects' stories), but I would argue that these are not meant to be full biographies. Instead, it is simply the author's personal notes as to why she holds herself in awe of them. They're introductions, encouraging you to go and do your own research and learn more about these women's lives so you can form your own opinion.

For example, I have absolutely zero interest in art, but I was most fascinated by the chapter on Frieda Khalo. She sounds like she really did defy the odds! And while I have way too much to read and probably won't specifically seek books on her out, if I do receive a recommendation I would definitely consider adding to my TBR list.

However, in this book I think we learn more about the author than we do the subjects. She does go off on a lot of tangents; I could have done without the five minute description as to why she named one of her dogs after Madonna. There feels like so many wasted words, which could have been used to provide deeper insight into her chosen subjects. As it is, it really does feel like a general overview.

While the chapters on figures from history do appear well researched if not overly detailed, my frustration was piqued by those chapters based on women whom the author has met in a professional setting, the Woman's Hour radio programme. For the most part, these chapters are just long transcriptions of her interviews. I would certainly advocate her using quotes from her own meetings to emphasise particular points, but something about listening to her have both sides of the conversation means something gets lost in translation. And very often, I don't feel that it added to your knowledge of the subject; it feels very much like the author revelling in the fact that she can tell stories about the time she met one of her heroes. 

I cannot judge the choice of her subjects; as I said above, these are the author's personal choices. I think everyone's selections would be completely different and it is an interesting little exercise to think about who you would include. For that alone, this book holds value. But I don't think this book did as good a job at exploring wider women's history as the Brit-centric one; while most of the women featured do have international appeal, their impact somehow seems more limited to their particular sphere of influence.

I am sad that this one didn't appeal to me; I really was hoping to discover some powerhouse women I'd never heard of, but instead I'm left shrugging my shoulders and moving on.