"A Tyranny of Petticoats" edited by Jessica Spotswood

I was intrigued by this book the moment I saw it in upcoming releases. It is an anthology of 15 short stories set in different historic periods beginning from 1710 and ending with 1968. I loved this book. First of all, I am a big fan of historical fiction. On top of that, I love to read books featuring female protagonists particularly those who are not afraid to act in a non-conventional way and challenge the established order of life. In addition, I am fascinated by the life of ordinary people in various historic settings, e.g. books that talk about the life of a common Roman soldier or a Greek housewife, etc. And this book gives us glimpses of what life was like for young women and girls throughout history.

All 15 stories are written from the point of view of their main heroines. They come from different social classes, racial, ethnic and religious backgrounds and have different sexual orientation. We thus get to hear diverse voices of fifteen young girls living in different historic periods, but united by similar goals: a desire to pursue dreams, to take charge of their lives, to make the world a better place and to have equal opportunities.

Every story in this anthology is wonderful. I did not dislike any of them, and some of them, I thought were too short and could be developed into full-length novels. I also believe the authors did a good job researching the historic periods that they chose to write about. In fact, each story is followed by an author's note that details what inspired them to write the story, and some even provided information for further reading and research. I highly recommend this book. 5 out of 5 stars.