Books like When women ruled the world by Kara Cooney

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks follows the story of Henrietta Lacks, a poor black tobacco farmer whose cancer cells were taken in 1951 without her consent and later became the first immortal human cell line, HeLa, driving major scientific breakthroughs while raising questions of ethics, race, and medical exploitation.

Stacy Schiff’s biography of Cleopatra unpacks the history behind the legendary queen of Egypt, separating myth from fact through a careful study of ancient sources.

The drama of Elizabeth I's tumultuous romance with Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex, as depicted in Giles Lytton Strachey’s historical novel, chronicling the court intrigue and love triangle of the Tudor era. An exploration of Elizabeth’s twilight years and the dramatic consequences of her forbidden love for the powerful and handsome Essex, this historical novel captures the essence of Elizabethan court and the complex dynamics of power, love, and politics. The book delves into Elizabeth's personal journey and the political machinations that shaped her final years, offering a fascinating glimpse into the tumultuous period of Elizabethan England.

Hatshepsut—the daughter of a general who usurped Egypt's throne and a mother with ties to the previous dynasty—was born into a privileged position in the royal household, and she was expected to bear the sons who would legitimize the reign of her father’s family. Her failure to produce a male heir was ultimately the twist of fate that paved the way for her improbable rule as a cross-dressing king. At just over twenty, Hatshepsut ascended to the rank of pharaoh in an elaborate coronation ceremony that set the tone for her spectacular reign as co-regent with Thutmose III, the infant king whose mother Hatshepsut out-maneuvered for a seat on the throne. Hatshepsut was a master strategist, cloaking her political power plays in the veil of piety and sexual reinvention. Just as women today face obstacles from a society that equates authority with masculinity, Hatshepsut shrewdly operated the levers of power to emerge as Egypt's second female pharaoh.

A captivating biography of Queen Victoria, exploring her reign and the social changes she experienced as head of the British Empire.