Amanda Lucy Foreman (born 1968) is a British-American biographer and historian. Her books include ''Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire'', ''A World on Fire'', and ''The World Made by Women''. She also wrote and starred in a four-part documentary regarding the role of women in society, entitled ''The Ascent of Woman''. Currently, she is a columnist for The Wall Street Journal bi-weekly 'Historically Speaking' and an Honorary Research Senior Fellow in the History Department at the

University of Liverpool The University of Liverpool (abbreviated UOL) is a Public university, public research university in Liverpool, England. Founded in 1881 as University College Liverpool, Victoria University (United Kingdom), Victoria University, it received Ro ...

Early life and education

Foreman was born in London. Her parents were Evelyn (Smith) and the screenwriter and film producer

Carl Foreman Carl Foreman, CBE (July 23, 1914 – June 26, 1984) was an American screenwriter and film producer who wrote the award-winning films '' The Bridge on the River Kwai'' and ''High Noon'', among others. He was one of the screenwriters who were bla ...

(1914–1984). Her father moved to England to work after being

blacklisted Blacklisting is the action of a group or authority compiling a blacklist of people, countries or other entities to be avoided or distrusted as being deemed unacceptable to those making the list; if people are on a blacklist, then they are considere ...

by the Hollywood movie studios during the

McCarthyism McCarthyism is a political practice defined by the political repression and persecution of left-wing individuals and a Fear mongering, campaign spreading fear of communist and Soviet influence on American institutions and of Soviet espionage i ...

of the 1950s. Her brother, Jonathan Foreman, is an international correspondent and film critic. She has five children and is married to Jonathan Barton. Amanda Foreman was educated at

Hanford School Hanford School is a girls' boarding Preparatory school (UK), preparatory school located in Hanford, Dorset, Hanford, Childe Okeford, Child Okeford, Dorset, England, established in 1947 and located in a grade II* Listed building, listed house buil ...

, a girls' junior independent school in southwest England, followed by various girls' boarding schools. She attended

Sarah Lawrence College Sarah Lawrence College (SLC) is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Yonkers, New York, United States. Founded as a Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in 1926, Sarah Lawrence College has been coeducational ...

Yonkers, New York Yonkers () is the List of municipalities in New York, third-most populous city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and the most-populous City (New York), city in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County. A centrally locate ...

, then

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

, before returning to England in 1991. She was awarded a 1993 Henrietta Jex-Blake Senior Scholarship at

Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford Lady Margaret Hall (LMH) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England, located on a bank of the River Cherwell at Norham Gardens in north Oxford and adjacent to the University Parks. The ...

. At

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

, Foreman completed an MPhil thesis ''Politics or Providence?: Why the Houses of Parliament voted to abolish the slave trade in 1807'' (1993) and a DPhil with her thesis ''The political life of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, 1757–1806'' (1998) which was then turned into her first biography. She received her doctorate from Oxford University in 18th Century British History.

Career

''Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire''

After completing her DPhil, Foreman remained at

as a researcher, and in 1998 she published her first book, '' Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire'', based on her doctoral thesis. Published by

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is a British–American publishing company that is considered to be one of the "Big Five (publishers), Big Five" English-language publishers, along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group USA, Hachette, Macmi ...

in the UK and

Random House Random House is an imprint and publishing group of Penguin Random House. Founded in 1927 by businessmen Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer as an imprint of Modern Library, it quickly overtook Modern Library as the parent imprint. Over the foll ...

in the US, the book was an international best-seller and reached number one in the UK as a hardback, paperback, and reissue nine years later. It was shortlisted for the 1998

Guardian First Book Award The Guardian First Book Award was a literary award presented by ''The Guardian'' newspaper. It annually recognised one book by a new writer. It was established in 1999, replacing the Guardian Fiction Award or Guardian Fiction Prize that the newspa ...

, and won the 1998 Whitbread Prize for Best Biography. The book has been the subject of a television documentary, a radio play starring

Judi Dench Dame Judith Olivia Dench (born 9 December 1934) is an English actress. Widely considered one of Britain's greatest actors, she is noted for her versatility, having appeared in films and television, as well as for her numerous roles on the stage ...

, and a film, '' The Duchess'', starring

Ralph Fiennes Ralph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes (; born 22 December 1962) is an English actor, film producer, and director. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Ralph Fiennes, various accolades, including a British Academy Film ...

and

Keira Knightley Keira Christina Knightley ( ; born 26 March 1985) is an English actress. Known for her work in independent films and Blockbuster (entertainment), blockbusters, particularly Historical drama, period dramas, she has received List of awards and no ...

''A World on Fire''

Foreman's most recent book, ''A World on Fire'', a history of British-American relations in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, was published in 2010 by

Penguin Penguins are a group of aquatic flightless birds from the family Spheniscidae () of the order Sphenisciformes (). They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere. Only one species, the Galápagos penguin, is equatorial, with a sm ...

in the UK on 30 June, and in 2011 by

in the US. The book was a critical success in both countries and a national best-seller in the US. Writing in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', Jay Parini stated, "One can hardly overestimate the brilliance of Foreman's conception, seeing this turning point in American history from a British viewpoint, drawing on a vast range of actors on this great stage, including lesser-known British sympathisers who fought on either side in this conflict or journalists." Adam I.P. Smith of ''

History Today ''History Today'' is a history magazine. Published monthly in London since January 1951, it presents authoritative history to as wide a public as possible. The magazine covers all periods and geographical regions and publishes articles of tradit ...

'' said, "Amanda Foreman's magnificent new book . . . resembles nothing so much as ''

War and Peace ''War and Peace'' (; pre-reform Russian: ; ) is a literary work by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy. Set during the Napoleonic Wars, the work comprises both a fictional narrative and chapters in which Tolstoy discusses history and philosophy. An ...

''." In a rare accolade, ''

The New York Times Book Review ''The New York Times Book Review'' (''NYTBR'') is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times'' in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely rea ...

'' awarded Foreman her second cover review. Michael Burlingame of ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'' heralded Foreman as "such an engaging writer that readers may find this 958-page volume too short".

Hendrik Hertzberg Hendrik Hertzberg (born July 23, 1943) is an American journalist, best known as the principal political commentator for ''The New Yorker'' magazine. He has also been a speechwriter for President Jimmy Carter and editor of ''The New Republic'', and ...

of ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

'' wrote: "The pages fly like the wind – like ''

Gone with the Wind Gone with the Wind most often refers to: * Gone with the Wind (novel), ''Gone with the Wind'' (novel), a 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell * Gone with the Wind (film), ''Gone with the Wind'' (film), the 1939 adaptation of the novel Gone with the Wind ...

'' – because there's so much life, so much action, and so many vivid people in them." In 2011, ''A World on Fire'' was "highly commended" by the judges of the PEN

Hessell-Tiltman Prize The PEN Hessell-Tiltman Prize is awarded to the best work of non-fiction of historical content covering a period up to and including World War II, and published in the year of the award. The books are to be of high literary merit, but not primari ...

. It was chosen as a "Book of the Year" by The New Yorker and ''

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British newspaper published weekly in printed magazine format and daily on Electronic publishing, digital platforms. It publishes stories on topics that include economics, business, geopolitics, technology and culture. M ...

'' and named one of the "Ten Best Books of 2011" by ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'',

Bloomberg Bloomberg may refer to: People * Daniel J. Bloomberg (1905–1984), audio engineer * Georgina Bloomberg (born 1983), professional equestrian * Michael Bloomberg (born 1942), American businessman and founder of Bloomberg L.P.; politician a ...

, ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'', the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

'', and NPR. In 2012, ''A World on Fire'' won the

Fletcher Pratt Murray Fletcher Pratt (25 April 1897 – 10 June 1956) was an American people, American List of science fiction authors, writer of history, science fiction, and fantasy. He is best known for his works on naval history and the American Civil War an ...

Award for excellence in Civil War history writing. It was a finalist for the 2012 Lincoln Prize, the Lionel Gelber Prize, and the

National Book Critics Circle Award The National Book Critics Circle Awards are a set of annual American literary awards by the National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) to promote "the finest books and reviews published in English".Jefferson Davis Jefferson F. Davis (June 3, 1808December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as the only President of the Confederate States of America, president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. He represented Mississippi in the Unite ...

Prize.

''The Ascent of Woman''

In September 2015, ''The Ascent of Woman'', Foreman's acclaimed four-part documentary regarding the role of women in society, was first aired on BBC 2. The series received positive reviews, with ''

The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are often names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * The Telegraph (Adelaide), ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaid ...

'' calling it "powerful, inspiring, and important." The series was subsequently programmed on Netflix in 2016.

''The World Made by Women''

Foreman's next book, ''The World Made by Women: A History of Women from the Apple to the Pill'', is slated for publication by

(US) and

Allen Lane Sir Allen Lane (born Allen Lane Williams; 21 September 1902 – 7 July 1970) was a British publisher who together with his brothers Richard and John Lane founded Penguin Books in 1935, bringing high-quality paperback fiction and non-fictio ...

(UK) in 2024.

''Queen Victoria's Palace''

In 2018, twenty-five years after Queen Elizabeth II opened Buckingham Palace to the public during the summer months, Royal Collection Trust set a new precedent by inviting an outsider, Foreman, to curate an exhibition for the 2019 Buckingham Palace Summer Opening. 'Queen Victoria's Palace' opened on 18 July 2019. The exhibition, which coincided with the 200th anniversary of Queen Victoria's birth, argued that Victoria's transformation of Buckingham Palace laid the foundations for the modern Monarchy. The refurbished Palace reflected a new form of gendered power. Victoria replaced the 'male' values of glory, wealth, lineage, and conquest with the 'female' values of family, duty, patriotism, and public service. "These four "female" virtues formed the pillars not only of her reign but of every one that followed". The show delighted the public and critics. Singled out was Foreman's introduction of modern technology, including holograms and CGI projections on walls and ceilings, to enhance the exhibition experience. The Guardian newspaper reported: "The story of how Victoria and Prince Albert rebuilt the palace into the most glittering court in Europe is explored through paintings, sketches and costumes, and includes a Hollywood-produced immersive experience that brings to life the balls for which she was famous." Foreman also co-wrote a book to accompany the exhibition, 'Queen Victoria's Palace'.

Other

In addition to her work as a historian and biographer, Amanda Foreman also writes for radio, television and print media. Her work is spread across a broad range, and includes a meditation on the role of the historian for

BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...

, a documentary series on the Georgians, 1714–1832, for BBC Radio 4, a discussion of the Anglo-American relationship for Andrew Neil's '' This Week'' on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...

, cover interviews with Emma Watson and

for '' Vogue'', profiles of

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...

and

Nancy Pelosi Nancy Patricia Pelosi ( ; ; born March 26, 1940) is an American politician who was the List of Speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 52nd speaker of the United States House of Representatives, serving from 2007 to 2011 an ...

for Porter, and a cover story on

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...

for ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...

'' in December 2011. Foreman has also written for both ''

The Sunday Times Magazine ''The Sunday Times Magazine'' is a magazine included with ''The Sunday Times''. In 1962 it became the first colour supplement to be published as a supplement to a UK newspaper, and its arrival "broke the mould of weekend newspaper publishing". ...

'' and '' The Lady'' in the UK. She is also a passionate advocate for

freedom of speech Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The rights, right to freedom of expression has been r ...

and has written about the subject for many publications. In addition to freedom of speech, Foreman has campaigned on a variety of other issues, from justice for Jean McConville to

gender equality Gender equality, also known as sexual equality, gender egalitarianism, or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making, an ...

. In 2016, Foreman received the St. George's Society of New York's Anglo-American Cultural Award, which recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to the US-UK cultural world. In 2013, Foreman founded the House of SpeakEasy, a literary nonprofit organization based in New York City that brings authors and their audiences together in innovative and entertaining ways. The organization hosts a series of acclaimed literary cabarets in New York City, where writers are invited to speak informally on the evening's theme. Past participants include

Salman Rushdie Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie ( ; born 19 June 1947) is an Indian-born British and American novelist. His work often combines magic realism with historical fiction and primarily deals with connections, disruptions, and migrations between Eastern wor ...

, Susan Minot, Jeff Kinney (author), Elif Şafak, and Yusef Komunyakaa. House of SpeakEasy also operates several community outreach programs under the umbrella name Seriously Involved. SpeakFreely provides free tickets to teachers and writing students to come to the shows put on by Seriously Entertaining. SpeakTogether works with Union Settlement in East Harlem, bringing writers together with senior high school students in Union Settlement's college readiness initiative.

John Guare John Guare ( ; born February 5, 1938) is an American playwright and screenwriter. He is best known as the author of '' The House of Blue Leaves'' and '' Six Degrees of Separation''. Early life He was raised in Jackson Heights, Queens.Druckma ...

, Susan Cheever, David Gilbert (author),

Michael Jan Friedman Michael Jan Friedman (born March 7, 1955) is a New York City born American author of nearly 60 books of fiction and nonfiction, more than half of which are in licensed tie-in products of the ''Star Trek'' franchise. Ten of his titles have appear ...

and Lemon Andersen are among the writers who have taken part in the program. Foreman has served as a judge on the ''Guardian'' First Book Award (1999), the

Orange Prize for Fiction The Women's Prize for Fiction (previously with sponsor names Orange Prize for Fiction (1996–2006 and 2009–2012), Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction (2007–08) and Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction (2014–2017) is one of the United Kingdom's ...

(2000), the

National Book Award The National Book Awards (NBA) are a set of annual U.S. literary awards. At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November, the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors. ...

(2010), the Cheltenham Booker Prize (2011), the Dan David Prize (2012), the Pen

(2012), and the

Man Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a prestigious literary award conferred each year for the best single work of sustained fiction written in the English language, wh ...

(2012). Most recently, she was appointed chair of the

(2016). In 2013, Foreman began writing "Historically Speaking", a biweekly column on history and world affairs, for ''

''. In 2014, she also joined

Smithsonian magazine ''Smithsonian'' is a magazine covering science, history, art, popular culture and innovation. The first issue was published in 1970. History The history of ''Smithsonian'' began when Edward K. Thompson, the retired editor of ''Life'' magazine ...

and ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...

'' as a regular columnist.

Books

* Foreman, Amanda. ''The World Made by Women: A History of Women from the Apple to the Pill.'' Forthcoming. * Foreman, Amanda. ''A World on Fire: An Epic History of Two Nations Divided'' (Penguin, 2010), 988 pp. Reissued as ''A World on Fire: Britain's Crucial Role in the American Civil War'' * Foreman, Amanda. ''The Duchess'' (Random House, 2008), 456 pp. Originally published as ''Georgiana: Duchess of Devonshire''. * Foreman, Amanda. ''Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire'' (Random House, 2001), 512 pp. Another ed. was published By HarperCollins in 2000. * Foreman, Amanda. ''Georgiana's World: The Illustrated Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire''. London: HarperCollins, 2001.

Essays

Dr. Amanda Foreman has contributed essays and introductions for: * Exploring Lincoln: Great Historians Reappraise Our Greatest President edited by Harold Holzer, Craig L. Symonds, and Frank J. Williams "Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation: A Propaganda Tool for the Enemy?” by Amanda Foreman * The Civil War as Global Conflict: Transnational Meanings of the American Civil War edited by David T. Gleeson and Simon Lewis "Coda: Roundtable on Memory" by Amanda Foreman * Greenwich Village Stories: A Collection of Memories edited by Judith Stonehill "Greenwich Village" by Amanda Foreman * The New York Times' Disunion: Modern Historians Revisit and Reconsider the Civil War from Lincoln's Election to the Emancipation Proclamation edited by Ted Widmer "How to Lose Allies and Alienate People" by Amanda Foreman * City Parks: Public Spaces, Private Thoughts edited by Catie Marron "Hyde Park, London" by Amanda Foreman * Reconfiguring the Union: Civil War Transformations edited by Iwan W. Morgan and Philip John Davies Palgrave "Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation: A Propaganda Tool for the Enemy?” by Amanda Foreman * George IV by Christopher Hibbert, foreword by Amanda Foreman * What Might Have Been?: Leading Historians on Twelve 'What Ifs' of History edited by Andrew Roberts "The Trent Incident Leads to War" by Amanda Foreman * The Sylph - by Georgiana Duchess of Devonshire, foreword by Amanda Foreman * Madame de Pompadour by Nancy Mitford, foreword by Amanda Foreman * Gender in Eighteenth Century England: Roles, Representations and Responsibilities edited by Hannah Barker and Elaine Chalus "A politician's politician: Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire and the Whig party" by Amanda Foreman

Lectures

The Chalke Valley History Festival
– 28 June 2015 From Empress Wu Zeitan to Margaret Thatcher explored their role from the Palaeolithic era to Britain today, revealing their extraordinary and often overlooked impact in the forging of the modern world. * Surrounded on All Sides – Five Lessons in Leadership From History, 11 June 2013, the Sydney Institute. * "Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation in England: A Propaganda Tool for the Enemy?” – 26 March 2011 – was a program of the 14th Annual Abraham Lincoln Institute Symposium
“The Latest in Lincoln Scholarship,”
sponsored by the Abraham Lincoln Institute and the Foundation for the National Archives at the National Archives at College Park. Dr. Amanda Foreman talked about the international response to the Civil War, particularly by Great Britain, in her speech. * A World on Fire: Britain's Crucial Role in the American Civil War – 30 November 2011 – The New York Society Library

Awards

Awards: * 2012 Fletcher Pratt Award for excellence in Civil War history writing. * 1998 Whitbread Prize for Best Biography. * 1993 Henrietta Jex-Blake Senior Fellowship, Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford Finalist: * 2012 Lincoln Prize * 2012 Lionel Gelber Prize * 2012 National Book Critics Circle Award * 2011 Jefferson Davis Award * 2010 PEN/Hessell-Tiltman History Prize * 1998 Guardian First Book Award

Personal life

Foreman has dual citizenship, and splits her time between

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, Kinderhook, New York, and

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. She is an Honorary Research Senior Fellow in the Department of

History History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

at The

. Outside of her professional life, Foreman is a passionate gardener.

References

Sources

'Reassessing Georgiana a decade later', Sunday Times, August, 2008

'Life as working mother of Five', Sunday Times, February, 2007

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20101204121649/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/bookreviews/8159646/A-Page-in-the-Life-Amanda-Foreman.html 'Interview with Amanda Foreman', The Daily Telegraph, November, 2010]

External links

Amanda Foreman's Official Website

The Ascent of Woman

Interview
on ''A World on Fire'' at the

Pritzker Military Museum & Library The Pritzker Military Museum & Library (formerly Pritzker Military Library) is a non-profit museum and research library for the study of military history located in a state-of-the art facility in Kenosha, WI. The institution was founded in 2003, ...

* *
''After Words'' interview with Foreman about ''A World on Fire'', August 7, 2011
{{DEFAULTSORT:Foreman, Amanda Alumni of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford English expatriates in the United States Columbia University alumni English biographers Historians of London Writers from New York (state) Writers from London Sarah Lawrence College alumni 1968 births Living people People educated at Hanford School 20th-century English historians 21st-century English biographers 21st-century American historians English women non-fiction writers 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers 20th-century American biographers American women biographers 21st-century American biographers English people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent American women historians 20th-century American historians 20th-century English women 21st-century English women 21st-century English historians Amanda