In a world dominated by stories of great kings and incomparable heroes, the tales of women who have lived equally challenging lives have largely faded away. Heroines of History aims to be a portal, a passage through time, to rediscover those stories across time and geography.

Women of noble blood, these princesses turned into heroines and braved the storms of their life and the times they lived in. Noor, a descendant of Tipu Sultan, couldn’t bear to tell a lie and yet circumstances demanded she become a spy during the Second World War. Sophia, the daughter of the last Maharaja of Punjab, became a firebrand activist. Kashmir’s Didda shaped a dynasty, while Shehzaadi Gulbadan documented stories from Mughal India in ways no one ever did. In the south, Velu Nachiyar won her kingdom back from the British.

The women we meet in this book did incredible things. As poets, writers, skilled administrators and warriors, each managed to change the world, rewriting the rules for all who followed. These are their stories—of courage, resistance and persistence.