Chuck Gonzales - We Can Do Anything - From sports to innovation, art to politics, meet over 200 women who got there first

Within these pages, I have included more than 200 incredible women who I believe to have been at the top of their game within their chosen fields. However, there are simply not enough pages to include every great individual, and the selection I have made is limited by my own research and subjectivity. I invite you to include your own “greats” within the pages of this book. You will find blank pages at the end of each chapter, where you can add the names and details of the women who really mean something to you—be they big names from history, or current affairs, or people from your own life who have inspired and amazed you. Make this book your own.

Caitlin Doyle

June 2016

CONTENTS

SAPPHO

MURASAKI SHIKIBU

SAINT HILDEGARD OF BINGEN

THE MONA LISA

ARTEMISIA GENTILESCHI

APHRA BEHN

COUNTESS D’AULNOY

FAIRY TALES

JUANA INÉS DE LA CRUZ

JULIA MARGARET CAMERON

BEATRIX POTTER

VIRGINIA WOOLF

COCO CHANEL

MA RAINEY

GEORGIA O’KEEFFE

DOROTHEA LANGE

ANNI ALBERS

FEATURE: WOMEN IN PHOTOGRAPHY

MARGARET BOURKE-WHITE

JOSEPHINE BAKER

KATHARINE HEPBURN

FRIDA KAHLO

GINGER ROGERS

FEATURE: FUNNY WOMEN

LUCILLE BALL

SISTER ROSETTA THARPE

BILLIE HOLIDAY

ÉDITH PIAF

ELLA FITZGERALD

PHYLLIS DILLER

MARGOT FONTEYN

MARIA CALLAS

MARILYN MONROE

MAIJA ISOLA

YAYOI KUSAMA

AUDREY HEPBURN

DELIA DERBYSHIRE

FEATURE: WOMEN IN MUSIC

DOLLY PARTON

MERYL STREEP

ANNA WINTOUR

FEATURE: FEMALE FASHION-SETTERS

OPRAH WINFREY

MADONNA

EVELYN GLENNIE

J.K. ROWLING

FEATURE: WOMEN OF LETTERS

THE NIGHTINGALES

BEYONCÉ

MISTY COPELAND

SAPPHOONE OF THE GREATEST POETS OF ANTIQUITY

FULL NAME: Sappho

BORN: C. 620 B.C., LESBOS, GREECE

DIED: 550 B.C., LESBOS, GREECE

NATIONALITY: ANCIENT GREEK

A poetess, believed to be Sappho, from an ancient Roman fresco

“Beauty endures only for as long as it can be seen; goodness, beautiful today, will remain so tomorrow.”

SAPPHO

THE POETESS

Sappho, or Psappha, is often simply referred to as “the Poetess”—so great was her talent. Her fame is considerable, especially as very little is known about the woman herself.

Sappho spent most of her life on the Greek island of Lesbos and is believed to have been born to an aristocratic family. She is said to have married and had a daughter, but any details of this are scarce. Sappho wrote many songs and poems and is considered to be one of the greatest of the ancient poets.

BEAUTY ENDURES

Little remains of Sappho’s work, but scholars continue to be fascinated by her. Newly discovered poems have been published as recently as 2014. Her poetry and songs were written in a unique style, now called “Sapphic” meter. The language was simple and direct, but full of melody.

Often Sappho wrote about beauty and love—sometimes addressing her poems to men but more often to women. In fact, her name (as an adjective, “Sapphic”) is used to describe romantic love between women, as is the island where she was born (“lesbian” comes from “Lesbos”). She wrote odes to the goddesses and retellings of Greek myths. She also wrote about her community and, it is believed, herself. This was different from the male poets of the time, who tended to focus on politics.

In spite of the fact that Sappho lived over 2,000 years ago, and that much of her work has been lost, her words are still read and studied today. Sappho remains known as one of the greatest ancient poets, and her memory lives on through her work.

MURASAKI SHIKIBUFIRST MODERN NOVELIST

FULL NAME: Murasaki Shikibu

BORN: C. 978, HEIAN-KYŌ, JAPAN

DIED: C. 1014, POSSIBLY BIWA, JAPAN

NATIONALITY: JAPANESE

LADY MURASAKI

Murasaki Shikibu, also known as “Lady Murasaki,” was an 11th-century poet and novelist in Japan. She wrote during Japan’s “Heian” period, a golden age of peace, harmony, and the arts. Heian women did not typically learn written Chinese (the language of government in Japan), but Murasaki was anything but typical. She excelled and quickly became a prolific writer of poems and novels in Japanese and is believed to be the world’s first novelist. Her novel, The Tale of Genji , was written in 1007. Many consider it the greatest work of Japanese literature and the oldest full novel in the world. Among other works, she also wrote a volume of poetry entitled The Diary of Lady Murasaki.

Murasaki was married and had a daughter, but her husband died within two years of their marriage. It is believed that because of her incredible writing talent and intelligence, she was brought to live at the royal court. There, she became a lady-in-waiting to Empress Akiko. Murasaki kept a diary about her views on life at court. She used these observations for her novel about daily life among upper class society. The Tale of Genji was immediately successful. It has since been translated into several languages and illustrated editions. To this day, it continues to be studied as the main source of knowledge about life in ancient Japanese society.

FABULOUS FIRSTS
	WRITER OF THE WORLD’S FIRST NOVEL

SAINT HILDEGARD OF BINGENIMPORTANT MEDIEVAL COMPOSER AND “INVENTOR” OF OPERA

FULL NAME: Hildegard von Bingen (A.K.A. Sibyl of the Rhine)

BORN: C. 1098, BEMERSHEIM, WEST FRANCONIA (NOW GERMANY)

DIED: 1179, RUPERTSBERG, WEST FRANCONIA (NOW GERMANY)

NATIONALITY: GERMAN

Illustration of Saint Hildegard (date unknown)

INSTRUCTIONS FROM GOD

Hildegard von Bingen achieved many things through devotion to her faith. She became a nun, but she was also a composer, author, preacher, visionary healer-doctor—later a saint. She is also credited as being the inventor of opera. From a young age, Hildegard felt a connection to God. She experienced visions and heard voices. Her parents sent her, aged eight, to live in a convent. As a student of the mother superior, Jutta, Hildegard read and studied widely. When Jutta died, 38-year-old Hildegard was unanimously elected by her fellow nuns to replace her. Her writings became well known, and many nuns came to learn from her. Hildegard knew about medicine and was a great healer. Crowds gathered to have her “miracles” worked on them. She preached widely, even though this was illegal for women. She often challenged senior Church officials and fought for independence. Some of her views on the Church, and on women in society, were progressive. She corresponded with several important figures of the time, many of whom sought her advice, including the German emperor and the English monarchs.