As if you can’t tell already, I read a lot of historical fiction and historical nonfiction about the forgotten women of the past who are just now getting the spotlight.

I just read The Last Grand Duchess by Bryn Turnbell. It was fine, nothing particularly relavatory or new if you already know the Romanovs. But it got me thinking.

I found that there seems to be reoccuring focus on a certain one or two famous ladies. Usually unraveling their hidden stories behind the men like the six wives of Henry VII, Mileva Maric (Einstein’s wife), any WWII spy, etc. Now, don’t get me wrong, these women should be recognized as they’ve been long overdue a time to shine. But I think we’ve gotten to the point where they are well-known now. Okay, except maybe Mileva Maric but who doesn’t know about CJ Walker or Henry’s Six wives, the West Wing Computers of the 1950s, Nellie Bly, Ching Shih or the last Russian governesses. I have seen Ching Shih in almost every Forgotten Historical Women books I’ve read since 2012, I think people know her now.

So I was wondering, what new forgotten women should be given the spotlight now? Why not a historical novel about the fighting Mother Jones during the Gilded Age? Or a revolutionary novel about Rani Lakshmibai and her fight against colonism. Or William Brown, who disguised herself as a man to become first black woman in the British Navy in the 1800s.

Comment below for what forgotten women you want to have more spotlight till she becomes mainstream!