Giovanni Boccaccio devoted the last decades of his life to compiling encyclopedic works in Latin. Among them is this text, the first collection of biographies in Western literature devoted to women.

Nearly every story in this collection is based on a woman who attained some celebrity, from Lord Byron's illegitimate daughter, Allegra, to Oscar Wilde's troubled niece, Dolly.

Arranged alphabetically from "Alice of Dunk's Ferry" to "Jean Childs Young," this volume profiles 312 Black American women who have achieved national or international prominence.

Part of a larger biographical series, this book examines the lives and legacies of some of the world's most famous artists and authors. Featuring well-known figures such as Leonardo da Vinci, William Shakespeare, and Michelangelo, as well as lesser-known artists and authors, this book offers an engaging and informative glimpse into the lives of these creative geniuses. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Ready-to-color illustrations depict thirty famous women of the Civil War with informative captions highlighting their roles and accomplishments.

Results of a project of the Farm Security Administration and the Office of War Information "to produce an encyclopedic record of American life through documentary photographs"--Back cover.