Book 14 of 26 books for 2024! Still aiming to get to at least 20 for the year, which would be a triumph considering this year.

The first thought that I had when I finished reading Eleanor Morton’s Life Lessons From Historical Women? I thought: Eleanor Morton is a good person.

This may seem somewhat like an odd thought to have after reading a book written by a professional comedian, and the book is indeed very funny, but it is also an extremely moving tribute to all those women out there, past and present, who are changing their world for the better, in large ways and small. Morton’s compassion stands out on every page, as does her willingness to connect the struggles these historical women faced with modern day oppression.

And, again, let me say that the book is also very funny.

For those unfamiliar, Eleanor Morton is an extremely talented comedian who I first encountered through her viral series of videos playing the extremely bored Scottish tour guide Craig. (Here’s an example.) I love her work, and so when I saw she had a book coming out, I didn’t hesitate to snap up a copy. (I also try whenever I can to support talented people who make me laugh.)

Life Lessons From Historical Women is a look at the accomplishments of eighteen women throughout history, looking not only at the struggles they faced in pursuit of their goals but also at their lives and personalities. Morton wants us to see these women as the human individuals they were, and she succeeds in this objective. The stories range from women breaking down gender barriers in human achievement — like Junko Tabei, the first woman to climb Mount Everest — to women who put their lives on the line to fight injustice — like Noor Inayat Khan, who worked as a British resistance agent in France in WWII — to women who fought to make the world a better place — like the Match Women, who went on strike in the 1880s and helped spark a nationwide labor movement.

The stories are at times inspiring, funny, and horrific — often at the same time. Many of these women faced horrible circumstances in their lives, and some were able to overcome them while others weren’t. Though all of them fought for their lives in one way or another.

It would have been very easy for Morton to write this book as simply a chronicle of women’s lives in the past, without any modern context, but she was unafraid to make connections between the injustices of the past and the ongoing injustices in the present. In this way, the book has an even greater emotional impact, and a timely one. Discussions of Artemisia Gentileschi’s sexual assault by her tutor leads to a discussion of how such cases are still treated to this day. The story of Ada Lovelace sparks a discussion of how women are still underrepresented and unappreciated in the tech world. Angela Morley’s success as a trans woman in Hollywood as a composer naturally ends in a reflection on the historical mistreatment of trans women and the increasing attacks on them in modern times. The success of Judith Kerr in becoming a famous children’s author after a childhood fleeing from country to country ahead of the advance of the nazis is a reminder of the plight of refugees and their contribution to society. These unflinching connections are what made me think, on finishing the book, “Eleanor Morton is a good person.”

Special mention that one of the women that Morton discusses is Joesphine Baker: singer, dancer, and spy!

Eleanor Morton is not a professional historian, as she herself take great pains to let the audience know at the beginning of the book. As a non-trained historian myself, I can sympathize, but one of the great things about history is that it is accessible to anyone willing to put it the work to learn it. My impression is that Morton has put in the work, not only reading up on her subjects but also talking to experts to make sure she has the proper context. In my opinion, as someone who has written two history of science books, she has succeeded admirably.

So, in summary, Life Lessons From Historical Women is a book that is inspiring, moving, oftentimes horrifying, but overall fascinating and enlightening. I can recommend it for anyone who wants to learn more about women in history and the challenges they faced and sometimes overcame.

And the book is also very funny at times, did I mention that?