I Know a Woman: The Inspiring Connections Between the Women Who Have Shaped Our World

by Kate Hodges, Sarah Papworth (Illustrator)

Behind every great woman… is another great woman. Here, the extraordinary achievements, relationships and secret histories of 84 pioneering women are revealed in inspirational stories which together show the indomitable strength of womankind. From ground-breaking scientist Marie Curie to political activist Malala Yousafzai, from feminist author Virginia Woolf to the game-changing Billie Jean King; I Know a Woman creates a gigantic web of womanhood which celebrates the relationships between the world’s most inspirational and influential women. Threading tales from across the globe and throughout history, the lives of innovative aviatrixes, gun-toting revolutionaries and women with incomparable intellects are revealed. Each woman is connected to the next, discovering the women behind the scenes; those who didn’t get the credit for scientific discoveries, sporting achievements or acts of bravery when they were alive. Some names will be familiar, some might not, but all are equally important. With compelling story-telling and beautifully illustrated portraits, I Know a Woman is bold and engaging with a unique purpose: to uncover the links between 84 pioneering women. Featuring Michelle Obama, Gala Dali, Emma Watson, Nina Simone, Frida Kahlo, Coco Chanel, Greta Garbo, Eleanor Roosevelt, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and many more pioneering women who have shaped the world we live in today.

Genres: Feminism, Nonfiction, History, Biography

192 pages, Hardcover

First published February 15, 2018

About the author

Kate Hodges has written nine books that have been translated into nine languages. Her titles include biography collections Warriors, Witches, Women and I Know A Woman. She has also written guides to London, among them Little London, Rural London, Welcome to the Dark Side: Occult London and London in an Hour, and family activity book On a Starry Night.

She has over 25 years writing experience on magazines, having been a staffer on publications including The Face, Bizarre, Just Seventeen and Sky, and written for many more. She currently writes regularly for The Green Parent and Shindig! magazines. She has twins and lives in Hastings. In her spare time, she plays in bands Ye Nuns and The Hare and Hoofe.

Instagram: @theekatehodges
Twitter: @theekatehodges
www.katehodges.org

Reviews

[Kirsty ❤️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are many books in circulation at the minute that are telling stories of inspirational women. Each are important in their own way and will give the reader plenty to think about and names of women they may want to read more about. 

Like the others, I enjoyed this. I've learned things not just about the women but their places in history, achievements and so much more. It's colourful, easy to read and the author has tried to connect them as much as possible; some in better ways than others.

It's a really enjoyable, inspirational read

Free arc from netgalley

[Sara Dahaabović · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Behind every great woman is ... another woman"

[Cassandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a lovely collection of mini bios of inspiring women from all generations, all over the world. Each mini bio comes with a stunning illustration, which in my honest opinion was the highlight of this book. Those illustrations were simply amazing. An important, and colourful book. Perfect for all readers. ♥️

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Nic · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was offered this book as an ARC via NetGalley and found it a fascinating summary of a wide variety of influential women's lives. I felt as though it would suit a YA audience well as the illustrations were lovely (though it there were pages which were difficult to read the text easily as the contrast was not very high with the background) and each profile gave a brief overview of the woman in question. I had heard of a vast majority of the inspiring women here but there were certainly a few that I had never come across before. As someone who has studied Network Science, I did find it interesting that Kate Hodges had searched out links between these women - hence the title. One minor niggle I had was that I found myself wondering why their birthdates were not recorded even if it was as a chronological list at the back as time and place can have a massive impact on the societal expectations upon women. Yes dates of key achievements are listed later on but it would have helped me put the selected women in context in relationship to each other and also made it easier to work out the ages at which they had made their achievements. A good introduction to a wide variety of influential women that I am sure will make people want to go away and read further about those that truly inspire them.

[Andreea · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was sent a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

It seems that book about famous people, and especially women (which is awesome), are becoming quite popular. But, as with every trend, these books tend to be a bit too similar or bland. I am happy to say that this is not the case with I Know A Woman!

The writing in this book is really good and it makes you really interested even in those women you already know all about! The art is so colorful and distinct, yet in the same style, for every women presented. I absolutely loved the historical context that was given for every women discussed in the book and how the connections between the women in the book or emphasized. They inspired each other and more often than not they worked together.

This makes a great book to introduce awesome role-models to little girls (although there is some talk about sex and affairs, and while I am okay with that, I am not sure this is the case for all the parents out there), but it's also a good book for adults despite the bite-size piece of biography you get. This book might spark a passion for a certain woman that you might pick up their biography or check out their works - especially if they are writers or painters.

And I know this might be a highlight for myself only, but I loved how many female pilots were presented in this book!!

[Laura Duffy]

This is a really beautiful and informative book. It is a compendium of inspirational women throughout history, each story is accompanied by a beautiful illustration. The illustrations are amazing as there are little Easter eggs about the women in question hidden in them. The book attempts to create a flow between the stories and each subsequent women is linked to the previous one. Some of the links feel rather forced and the last paragraph of each story is a rush to shoehorn another woman in so she can be the next one to have her story told. Also, it can also make the book seem repetitive as there are several women who are very similar that follow each other and it would have been better if they were spread out across the book. Overall, this was a brilliant read and I learned about some amazing women through history and got to see some beautiful art.

[Anjana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book that I requested to read and review when I saw it because of its description. It is a collection of bite sized versions of the life stories of women who left their mark. 

The foreword was very well written (I have to mention it just because it set the atmosphere for the rest of the reading). It has a drawing of each woman beside the story and that too makes for good reading. It has never been easy for women to get a point across, in some ways that situation has become better (on the whole). In my culture, or at least in my home growing up, we were encouraged to think that we could achieve anything we set our mind to (and work hard), it would have helped to have such a collection to drive home the point. Considering the nature of some of the content, I would not recommend it for very young kids but teenagers and above would find this an interesting way to spend some time.

The only problem I had with the narration was that the women were all connected by some distance of separation but at times, this connection seemed tenuous at best. It was a fun way to jump through time and country and type of achievement, but initially it bothered me a lot!

It is not a book to be read in one sitting, and would make for a very lively discussion.

For other unrelated reviews: www.superfluousreading.wordpress.com

[Jozef Syndicate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoying "I Know a Woman" by Kate Hodges with artist Julie Van Grol's "Badass Babe Workbook" is a perfect match. Badass Babe peeks the reader's strong woman and inner Badass Babe in the most creative way: art! The exercises coupled with the added sections of inspiration from trailblazing women ushers right into Hodges' "I Know A Woman". It meets Hodges goal of "creating a gigantic web of womanhood which celebrates the relationships between the world’s most inspirational women". It is then enhanced as the reader complete's Grol's guide, working through the art exercises to celebrate her own.

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

I know A Woman is a book that connects the lives of incredible women throughout history. Featuring women such as Hedy Lamarr, Harriet Tubman and Fanny Mendelssohn, I Know A Woman features women you may know, but women you may not from a diverse range of backgrounds that makes for a such a good read.

Each page has a short biography of each woman, telling us what each one did but also the women they worked or associated with, which then connects us to the next page of the book - it’s a book that makes you curious and then feeds it as we see each woman connecting to another throughout the book in sheer brilliance from the start.

Accompanying these words is the work of Sarah Papworth. Papworth really brings, with her art these women back to life throughout this I Know A Woman. Her artwork for women such as Amy Johnson, Anita Garibaldi and Chien Shiung-Wu are just three of the pages I remember standing out, however this book is filled with stunning images of incredible women through the ages.

I am here for picture books for adults, and this one is going to start my collection.

(I received an ARC from Netgalley for review).

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I kind of hate when the back cover gives a review more than a synopsis. That is the biggest holdup I had in picking up and actually reading I Know a Woman when there are so many others. And when I say so many others, I’m not kidding. We made a whole section of them at the store. And I might scream at the next person who tells me that Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls is something revolutionary. It started eons ago with Krull & Hewitt’s Lives of Extraordinary Women and so many others. So why am I reading more? Why am I continuing to read the same vignettes about the same women over and over?

Because they are still inspiring. And Hodges pulls them all together in ways that haven’t been before. Can you draw a map of influence from Ada Lovelace to Beyonce? Kate Hodges can. The unique structure of I Know a Woman focuses on the connections between these inspiration and how they influenced each other. No one lives in a vacuum, and strong women have to stand behind and next to each other. So therefore, read it, learn more about Gloria Steinem and Emma Watson’s friendship, Meryl Streep’s awesomeness and how Audrey Hepburn rebelled against her mother’s fascism.

[Laura Nocca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Una forma rápida y amena de conocer mujeres que hicieron que nuestra vida hoy sea un poco más libre y justa ya que allanaron el camino para que otras muchas pudieran hacer casi lo que quieran. Por otra parte introduce el hecho de conectarlas entre ellas y ver cómo la sororidad nos hace crecer entre todas.

[Chelsea Kowal · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book, Connected Women by Kate Hodges, was my 17th book I read this year (2023).

Not only is this an absolutely excellent book to read for women of all ages, but each story was educational and highly inspirational.

There were women from all over the world featured in this book. There were women who I have heard of and some who I have not heard of. There were facts about women I have heard of which I did not know prior to reading this book. It was unlike any other book about women I have ever read before.

This book was quite like a journey through time and space, showing how women from all eras inspired each other and helped the entire world grow and move forward. It was very empowering to see how these women paved the road for other women (and everyone in general).

I loved the illustrations on each page- very colorful and beautiful. I also loved how each page actually showed how the various women featured throughout the book were linked together. Some met each other. Some never did. Some played roles in plays written based on books that others wrote. Some inspired others. Some worked together. But there was always some link to another woman featured in the book.

What I loved and enjoyed most was the amount of impact each woman in this book really had in this world, whether they died or are still living. It made me wonder about my own place in this world and what my legacy will be…

I am so grateful to NetGalley, Kate Hodges (the author) and Quarto Publishing Group – White Lion (the publisher) for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I Know a Woman generated mixed emotions in this reader.

Things that I applaud are:
- the breadth of the selection of women, across years, nationalities and fields of influence
- the illustrations are beautiful

Things that didn't work for me:
- while the attempt to connect the women to each other was interesting, in many cases the connections were tenuous at best
- the information about each of the women was very scant and left me wanting more

There are many of this type of book on the market these days. I wish more information had been given on each of the women featured. Perhaps the intent of the book was to make you want to learn more - if that is the case, it succeeded well.

My thanks to NetGalley and Aurum Press for sending me an e-copy of this book to read and review in exchange for an honest opinion.

[Tasya · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received an e-arc of this book from netgalley in exchange for an honest review

I really like the idea behind this book, of women knowing each other and helping each other. However, some of the connections in this book can be far-fetched, instead of A knowing B, it's more like "A works in the same field as B etc". I may seem nitpicking, but those type connection felt forced since the book promised each women to know each other. The writing is a bit dry too, it felt like reading a text book since there are so many information and achievements condensed in a page. Maybe more pages can be given to make it more interesting instead of info-dumping.

On the other hand, kudos to the illustrator! All of the illustrations are gorgeous and the color pallete are really pleasing.

[Graham · Rating 3 out of 5]

A guide to both historical and modern women known for championing feminist causes or being leading figures in their fields. Similar in many respects to a lot of other books out there these days, what stood out about this one, for me, was the presentation: it's a lavishly mounted hardback in a beautiful shade of green, and the simple cartoon illustrations of the figures included work really nicely. The text is kept brief -there's a lot of white space here - and feels like it's been rewritten from Wikipedia at times, and the connections between the figures are tenuous at best, but it does the job, and this serves as a good introduction from which the reader can explore the figures who really interest them or go deeper into feminist history.

[Itsaso greengaze · Rating 3 out of 5]

Me he aficionado bastante a este tipo de libros en los cuales te hablan brevemente de la vida de mujeres increíbles que consiguieron grandes cosas.
Sin embargo, en este caso a llegado a abrumarme un poco. Quiere contar tanto en tan pocas líneas que muchas veces los datos que nos dan están inconexos y no quedan claras muchas cosas. Me hubiera gustado que se hubieran limitado a contar menos pero de una manera mucho más amena y sencilla como es el caso de los libros de Irene Cívico y Sergio Parra (los cuales adoro), quedándote así toda la información mucho más clara.
Es una lectura interesante, aunque hay libros con un formato parecido que están bastante mejor.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the majority of this book on International Women’s Day (yesterday) which I thought was quite fitting, and then finished it today. It was amazing to learn about some extremely amazing women, some of whom I’d never heard of before, and how their contributions have impacted our societies today. It was also fascinating to observe the connections between many of these women. It was a beautifully enlightening book, the only issue I had with it was that the stories are bite-sized and don’t appear to be structured for adults. While this has the benefit of being accessible to younger audiences, I would’ve found it more captivating if there had been further detail.

[Gail · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the type of book that would make a marvellous present for my granddaughter, aged 10 months, whose mum is passionate about giving her female role models.

Hodges presents the lives of 84 ground breaking pioneers from Marie Curie to feminist author Virginia Woolf to the game-changing Billie Jean King. Each woman is connected to the next, discovering the women behind the scenes; those who didn’t get the credit for scientific discoveries, sporting achievements or acts of bravery when they were alive.

It's beautifully illustrated and should be in every school and library to remind us of countless women whose achievements would be highly visible had they been men.

[MacKenzi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adored everything about this beautifully illustrated book! I love how Hodges tells the story of many influential women in history AND I love how this does not include just women from history, but also women who are currently making history. The additions of Michelle Obama and Meryl Streep were brilliant, and this is certainly a book that I would recommend and purchase for others as a gift. I enjoyed reading each woman’s story, some stories or facts I did not even know. Well-written and well-executed.

[Beth Younge · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked how the book was laid out and the organization of it. The book seemed like it was for a much younger demographic and aimed at teens, not women like it seemed. I enjoyed the artwork and how the recipients were talked about. However, the book was not for me whilst it was interesting and formative, i didn't feel like i got much more out of it.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Paradise · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a present from a friend and it’s a truly excellent book. It tells the stories of many of the wonderful women throughout history; some of them are familiar, like Jane Austen but there are others with whom I was unfamiliar and it led to the purchase of other books on those women! It has lovely illustrations and is perfect for adults and children alike. Not just for girls, this reminds us all that women have shaped history for centuries.

[Audrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book, while good, feels a bit misrepresented. I expected to be reading stories that more clearly explains the links and connections across women. Instead, the stories are about an individual woman with some imagery that shows one (or a few) women who were influenced by or influenced her (no further elaboration in those links). Would likely have ranked this higher if I went in with different expectations, but as described, it fell flat.

(NetGalley Review)

[Dyn✨️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very cool book! I'm sure every woman will love this book. Contains a variety of extraordinary female characters, some of us certainly know the story. However, you will be amazed by the connected women referred to in this book. The illustrations make this book even cooler, they can depict characters and points that match to the characters.

Thank you NetGalley and Publisher for accepting me to read and review this book:)

[I Read, Therefore I Blog · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kate Hodges is a journalist with over 25 years of experience. First published in 2018 and re-republished in 2023, this book of 84 portraits (illustrated by Sarah Papworth) shows the connections between women from the 19th century to the present day. While it mixes lesser known women with the great and the good, it’s very western focused, some of the connections are tenuous and Papworth’s illustrations somewhat anaemic and lacking in personality.

[Nikkiblayce · Rating 3 out of 5]

Me ha parecido un libro muy interesante por todas las historias de mujeres incréibles que tiene, por poner un pero, el texto estaba tan pequeño que he tenido que usar una lupa para verlo mejor. Supongo que hubiese sido más cómodo que tuviese un tamaño de letra algo mayor.
Aún así no deja de ser interesante.

[Elaine Maul · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a Christmas present. It was OK but, by its very nature, it skimmed over the biographies of all the women mentioned. For several people that I'd never heard of, it would have been nice to have had their dates of birth to place them in time as it wasn't always obvious from the descriptions of what they got involved with.

[rebecca doyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

While there are many similar books about awe inspiring women, Kate has a subtle yet important difference here of managing to connect these women’s stories together. A comforting read with stunning illustrations, this would make a beautiful gift for any young woman or a great coffee table conversation starter.

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Muchas historias desconocidas y con algunas sorpresas, como las relaciones entre varias de las protagonistas. Recomendable

[elsecretodeloslibros__ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Este tipo de libro están muy de moda - últimamente - y eso está bien pero no dejan de repetirse en el 90% prácticamente los mismos personajes. Me alegra al menos descubrir alguna señora. 🌸

[Ruksana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read to add to your library of strong women that changed and influenced the world. I needed these books growing up. I am glad my daughter's have it to grow up fierce.