Warriors & Wenches is a collection of brief chapters, usually two or three pages each, giving biographical information on exceptional women who lived, either openly or clandestinely, as fighters or courtesans. In each case, the women earned their fame in arenas usually reserved at the time for men, and they represent countless others who were lost to history in a world that undervalued a woman's role no matter how extraordinary and accomplished she might be.

Although the author in her introduction says these are women we don't know about, I was actually familiar with several, among them Penthesilia, queen of the Amazons; Boudicca, queen of the Iceni and rebel leader against the Roman invaders of Britain; Joan of Arc, the martyred Maid of Orleans; Irish pirate Grace O'Malley; Ukrainian sniper Lyudmila Pavlichenko; Mary Boleyn, an English king's lover and queen's sister; and Madame de Pompadour, a power-wielding mistress to the French king.

Some of the names that were unfamiliar to me before reading this book are (warriors) Artemisia of Caria, Caterina Sforza, Catalina de Erauso, Nakano Takeko and Faye Schulman, and (wenches) Alice Perrers, Imperia Cognati, Veronica Franco, Kate Hackabout and Harriette Wilson.

It's a fascinating selection, although to be honest I was surprised at a couple names left out, such as the pirate Mary Read and the spy Mata Hari. Of course, at just 99 pages, there are limits to how many people can be included. Author Michelle Rosenberg could probably fill several volumes with outstanding figures from history and not run out of material.

Each chapter is a succinct introduction to a colorful life. Warriors & Wenches is a fast and easy read, a chapter or two at a time, and will leave readers with new knowledge of women too often overlooked by history.