Complicated Women

In 'Complicated Women', Bee Wilson explores the lives of ten women who achieved notoriety and influence in their own times and whose legacy is still felt today. Her subjects include Maria Montessori, author of the groundbreaking philosophy of child-centred learning, and Hedy Lamar, who developed the ideas behind wifi. For Clara Petacci, power came through her private life, while Alma Mahler faced the choice between creative and personal fulfilment.

In this collection of ten biographical essays, originally published in the London Review of Books, Wilson takes a candid look at her subjects and asks what it takes for a woman to make her mark in a world where legitimate sources of power are often denied. A bravura performance is one answer: from the clumsy but audacious fake Spanish dancer Lola Montez to the dazzlingly talented and politically daring Elizabeth Taylor. For the self-effacing Constance Lytton, her greatest act came in prison, exposing the British government's treatment of working-class suffragettes. But perhaps the most complicated accounts emerge from the world of fashion, where Coco Chanel and Vivienne Westwood challenged the way women are allowed to appear in the world.

This audiobook also features an introductory conversation between Bee Wilson and Malin Hay, an editor at the LRB and presenter of the LRB Podcast.

Subjects covered: Lola Montez, Constance Lytton, Maria Montessori, Alma Mahler, Coco Chanel, Clara Petacci, Edith Piaf, Hedy Lamarr, Elizabeth Taylor, Vivienne Westwood.

These pieces have been amended in places from the original for the purposes of recording.