I ate this book up in one sitting, and savored every bite! Most of the women Oneill writes about here, I'd never heard about, with the exception of Elizabeth Packard, so it was fascinating to learn about these women who defied the societal norms of their times. The illustrations/photos were especially fun. Oneill had me shaking my head and laughing out loud throughout the book. Now I want to mine my library for some of her older titles. Such a great literary romp through women's history!

This book was a darn delight. The writing style was so unique and funny. It made history come alive and it felt like you were in a room meeting all these fascinating women. It made you realize just how limited the education system is that none of these women are in the common vernacular. I will be recommending this book to every person I know (man and woman!)

“We’re proud to have grown. But we’ve been careful not to grow too much. There are still rules for being a true and proper woman. There are still limited options if you want to fit smoothly, to not draw attention to yourself and to not irritate people. And there are still punishments. If you try to be too different, you’ll lose credibility, acquaintances, and invitations. When you’re slammed for being an attention whore, a bad mother, a selfish bitch, a skank, a liberal whack job, or a brainwashed housewife, you’re feeling what these historic women felt. Unsuitable. Unbecoming. Not enough. Same sentiments, just new names.”

5 ⭐️
Thank you to the author & NetGalley for the ARC.


I easily could have read another 600+ pages. This was so well written. Extremely empowering serving as a reminder of the women who have come before us. Each story was the perfect length and included enough context to paint the picture the author is wanting you to see. It should be on everyone’s TBR and I already have a few people in mind I am excited to gift this book to once published. One can only hope there are further works similar to this in the future from this duo (author and illustrator)!

Thank you to the Netgalley and the publisher for a free copy of the uncorrected copy of this book. Fun, funny, and informative, Unbecoming a Lady is a well balanced combination of humor and history. The book is well organized into different sections of women with related impacts on history. Some women are household names, others may be newer to the reader, but even the household names are worth reviewing from Therese Oneill’s perspective. One thing that stood out to me was Oneill’s lack of any negative judgement towards her subjects - where a historical figure had beliefs or actions that may seem out of touch today, Oneill is able to present the value these actions had on moving us to where we are today. Oneill also keeps a hopeful eye on the future, where hopefully the version of equality women have today looks out of touch by comparison.

Unbecoming a Lady by Therese O'Neill is about women to aspire to. Women who created their own success, despite adversity + = woman. I was astounded by these women, many I have never heard of before, but should be household names. I found myself calling my Daughter to tell her all about these women. This book had me laughing, and in awe at the same time. These women are my new heroes. This book is a must have!

I really wish I liked this book. It was an awesome concept, but I just couldn’t get into the stories about all of these women. The writing was okay, though quite conversational, and I didn’t find most of the women as impressive as I was hoping they’d be. It could be that historical books aren’t always my favorite, but I thought I’d come around for this one reading about women not accepted by society.

This book was hilarious and incredibly well written. I loved how much I learned about women from history that I had no clue about. I honestly wish there was more books like this out there. I can't recommend this book enough!

A series of short biographies about women that broke the "rules" of society in various ways. I liked the broad scope of women covered here! It covered more "fun" ones like performers and then more serious figures like Ida B. Wells. I do think the religion section felt a bit out of place among the others. Like maybe these women could still have been present other chapters and it would have made more sense. Overall though, an interesting read!

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a lot of fun to read, although I can think of a lot of shrews and sluts the author should have included..

I have been sorely missing out. The ladies featured in Unbecoming a Lady are truly remarkable. It’s women like these that laid the path for change in how women are perceived and received and I thank them for it. I love the format of this book. It makes for a quick read. I enjoy sarcastic humor and I appreciate Oneill’s generous helpings throughout the book. One of the greatest feats of this book, besides bringing these amazing women to our attention, is that it sparks you to read more about them and the fascinating lives they led.

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon Element for providing me with a copy of this fun book!

This book has an excellent concept hampered by a subpar execution. I've read Unmentionable, one of the author's other books, and came away from this one with similar impressions. Both books are very readable; in fact, the very chatty tone and bantery narration give the unavoidable impression that readability is the primary aim, which may disappoint readers hoping for something with a little more substance.

I enjoy reading profiles of interesting women who buck convention and I think that works that prevent their erasure from history are a good thing, but I hoped for something a little more toothsome than I got. The tone was so very glib and playful that I kept pausing as I was reading to wonder just who exactly the intended audience was. Was this meant to appeal to middle grade or young adult readers as a subversive history book? If so, the excessive informality made a little more sense, even if it still came across as trying too hard:

"It's 1903, so she can't mc drop. Old-timey director bullhorn drop. Aida out."

In some places the humor worked well, but there was too much of it and it detracted from the book. Then there's the inconsistent--at times outright baffling--messaging. I love the idea of profiling women who didn't fit in, but it doesn't necessarily follow from there that the narration should be harsh on women who had an easier time fitting in. One runs the risk of showcasing a string of triumphant "Not Like Other Girls" (TM) examples. In the course of profiling a woman who. along with Nellie Bly, pioneered using daring undercover assignments in service of investigative journalism, the author offers this aside, which left me scratching my head: "(Other, more photogenic Stunt Girl reporters retired and married millionaires fifty years their senior. I'm not naming names, but if I were to do so, one name would rhyme with Smelly Thigh.)" ...Really?
And at one point, in a sentence referring to William Randolph Hearst, the author helpfully defines yellow journalism for the reader as "a judgy name to describe what was a new style of writing: telling a story with the rather tawdry aim of not being boring." That's ...certainly a take.

I genuinely loved the characters profiled in Unbecoming a Lady, and I loved the fact that not all of the women whose stories the reader is introduced to are white. With that said, the super-glib, Cosmo Book Club tone meant that I'd be reluctant to quote anything I learned here without having first verified it against another sources. I think this serves very nicely as an introduction to historical figures the reader has very likely never heard of and as a jumping-off point for looking up more information about the women whose stories are included here. I found the content and aims of the book to be worth 4 stars, while the writing, at least for this reader, was 2 stars--I'll settle for 3 overall.

Very amusing and well-cited volume of short biographical vignettes. Some entries are more obscure than others but they are all interesting and worth knowing about.

I liked it. It's amusing. Surprising at times. Funny feminist historical bio. You will learn if you read it.

I loved this book! I learned so much about so many interesting women. Most of the book has a fun, sassy feel to it that I enjoyed. It is so nice to see so many important women of history get some recognition. The photos included were great, it was nice to see what all these tough ladies looked like. I would highly recommend this one.

A quippy and irreverent collection of illustrated profiles of the great American women who weren’t attractive, well-spoken, demure, or sinless enough to receive their rightful place in history, until now, from New York Times bestselling author Therese Oneill.

Yes, yes, yes. These are my kind of women.

This was pretty funny and informative. It has important history and enough cynical humor to make you forget you’re reading a textbook. They do a great job of citing sources and the photographs added are lovely.

This book was wonderful, whimsical, and knew just when to turn the funny off.
It has a consistent narrative voice with clear cutting observations and lightning quick wit that had me STRUGGLING to not send pictures of entire chapters to my friends!
What I most appreciated was when the story turned to Ida B.Wells, there was a statement made along the lines of "I made these other stories funny, they are funny, but this story is not funny. This story is not supposed to be funny. This story is heavy, and we will address it appropriately, and you will be thankful you read it." The author was right to change the tone, and remarkably despite removing the humor for a chapter, her narrative voice remained consistent and engaging.
A lot of authors would continue to attempt to crack jokes out of concern of losing their readers or their narrative voice, but this author recognized the need for a tone change and her writing style lost no engagement while she addressed what is entirely serious as entirely serious. I cannot thank her enough for that.
This is not only a funny book, an informative book, this is a smart book.
You'll be thankful you read it :)

Thank you to netgalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.

What a rollicking fun read this was! Oneill has done a lovely job capturing the essence of these Infamous women. In a voice that is engaging and conversational, she relays their stories as well as offers social commentary both about their times and ours. The blurbs are relatively short, and some shorter than others - The Witch of Wall Street for example never addresses how she made her fortune or what her brilliance in finance was - but there is an excellent set of references at the end for further reading. This was a super-fun read and the illustrations added a nice touch!

This book was such fun to read, I learned about so many different women and I truly appreciated the nuanced looks at their lives (none are perfect, but instead completely human with flaws and achievements) showing that there is no one right way to be a woman (or citizen or human).

Told in a tone that reminds me of a mix of powerpoint parties and girlspaining history, it is a fascinating look at women and the times they lived - and how they upended the status quo. Obviously well researched, each profile is packed with information but doesn't get boring or repetitive. There is a large range of topics and I appreciated that of the 18 women I was familiar with very few - or new them in a narrow capacity (like Cheaper by the Dozen mother Lillian Moller Gilbreth being a engineering powerhouse).

I hope this author does more profiles in the future - I would read absolutely all of them.

A Beautiful collection filled with the women who refused to bow to societies expectations and shaped the course of history! from playing poker, to raising reindeer, to wearing pants, the women in this book where most unbecoming for their time! bucking the trends of the worlds they lived in, they made huge changes to the world as we know it, from the first steps towards maternity wear and plus sized clothing, to the very kitchen design we all use, and even how newspapers are written, each woman has shaped the American way of life.

I was enthralled with this book, each chapter filled with multiple women, each with their own unique story to be told. from a rough riding poker player, to a banker, to a doctor, these stories filled me with the great pleasure of knowing how unbecoming a lady can be truly freeing. If you love history, and want to learn more about how women shaped that history, this is definitely the book for you!