This is an inimitable collection of outrageous and unforgettable 20th-century women who refused to fulfill society's expectations. Their company includes the woman who survived 4 months adrift in a dinghy in the Pacific and the woman who played professional polo disguised as a man for 15 years, as well as the inimitable Dame Barbara Cartland and Fanny Cradock. Very few of the women featured were "celebrities," yet their stories represent a century of progress and change, capturing the spirit of those who came of age between Emancipation and the Equal Opportunities Act, whether high life or low life, pioneers or bluestockings.