The history of the world has been told in objects. But what about the objects that tell the history of women? What are the items that symbolize the journey of women from second-class citizens with no legal rights, no vote and no official status to the powerful people they are today? And what are the objects that still oppress women?
From the corset to the pill, the typewriter to the first pair of women's trousers and the invention of IVF - there are objects through history that document the developing role of women in society.
This story is told here by two leading historians with a lightness of touch that will appeal to all those interested in women's history, whatever their age.

Professor MAGGIE ANDREWS is Professor of Cultural History at the University of Worcester, with a keen interest in femininity and domesticity. She is a member of the Women's History Network and lives in Pershore, Worcestershire. DR JANIS LOMAS completed her PhD on war widows at the University of Staffordshire, after which she worked as a lecturer in women's history at the University of Birmingham.