Discover the hidden history of women—and the world—through this visual exploration of intimate objects and the surprising, sometimes shocking, stories behind them.

“I adored this book!” –Olivia Colman

The way we remember the past remains dismayingly patriarchal: a place where women have always been oppressed by men, from ancient times to the present day. But A History of Women in 101 Objects tells a new story, revealing the central, surprising, and critical role women have played in society through the quiet power of their everyday items—from Tupperware to Hannah Arendt’s brooch.

With engaging prose, compelling stories, and a beautiful full-page image of each object, Annabelle Hirsch curates a diverse compendium of women and their things, uncovering the thoughts and feelings at the heart of women’s daily lives. The result is an intimate and lively alternative history of humans in the world. The objects date from prehistory to today and are assembled chronologically to show the evolution of how women were perceived by others, how they perceived themselves, how they fought for freedom. For example, what do handprints on early cave paintings tell us about the role of women in hunting? What does a mobile phone have to do with femicides? Or Kim Kardashian’s diamond ring with Elena Ferrante?

Wide-ranging, subversive, witty, and superbly researched, this is a book that upends all our assumptions about, and presentations of, the past.