Women's history

Jodie Turner-Smith as Anne Boleyn. (Photo by Parisa Taghizadeh courtesy of Channel 5)

Jodie Turner-Smith as Anne Boleyn: colour-blind casting and historical accuracy

Illustration of Brunhilda of Austrasia

The real Brunhild? The Visigothic princess behind the Norse saga

An aerial view of Tahiti

Jeanne Baret: the first known woman to circumnavigate the globe

Portrait of Catherine de Medici

Catherine de Medici: the ‘Serpent Queen’ who became one of France’s most powerful 16th-century rulers

Melisende of Jerusalem

Melisende of Jerusalem: the queen of a crusader kingdom

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