Women's history

L to R: Marie Antoinette of France, Njinga of Ndongo and Matamba, Hurrem (also known as Roxelana)

Queens know best: survival lessons from powerful historical women

Leo Hollis untangles the bizarre 18th-century court case surrounding Mary Davies: a wealthy heiress married in mysterious circumstances. (Image by Getty Images)

Madness, property and power: the strange case of Mary Davies

A bust of Queen Nefertiti of Ancient Egypt. (Photo by Oliver Lang/AFP/Getty Images)

Your guide to Egypt’s sun queen Nefertiti

Dr Katrina Moseley explores the surprising story of slimming clubs, touching on female friendship, entrepreneurialism and feminist fury. (Image by Getty Images)

The changing shape of slimming clubs

Women fighters of the Jewish resistance with Judy Batalion

Second World War

Women fighters of the Jewish resistance

Joanna Bourke explores what ideas about ‘evil women’ can tell us about societal values through history. (Image by Getty Images)

Why are we fascinated by ‘evil women’?

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Bloodied feet, outrageous breasts and the sinister power of a hair cut: a history of the body

Roland Philipps tells the story of Mathilde Carré

Second World War

Traitor or triple agent? The WW2 spy Mathilde Carré

17th century engraving showing the execution by hanging of four witches. (Photo by Fototeca Gilardi/Getty Images)

Quiz: Would you have been accused of witchcraft?

The bigamy trial that scandalised Georgian England

Elaine Farrell shares the stories of Irish women incarcerated in the 19th century, from daily prison routines to relationships with staff and contact with the outside world. (Image by Getty Images)

Women prisoners in 19th-century Ireland

Portrait of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu (1689-1762) by Joseph Highmore (Photo by Alamy)

The feminist who waged war on smallpox

In 1910 Lydia Harvey seemed to disappear. Julia Laite delves into her story – one of exploitation, sex and the vagaries of justice – and the trial that brought it to light.

Traffickers on trial: the sensational case of Lydia Harvey

Poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Elizabeth Barrett Browning: your guide to the poet’s life, work and love

Jennifer Higgie charts the story of women’s self-portraits over the last 500 years of western art – uncovering tales of transgressive self-expression and overcoming oppression. (Image by Getty Images)

500 years of women’s self-portraits