“Well-behaved women seldom make history.” So said Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, a historian whose work demonstrates that women’s important contributions to society are often overlooked. Taken wildly out of context, the quote could apply to any of the women highlighted in our five stories below. Often born into struggle and fed up with the men who underestimated them, these women stole, schemed, and conned their way into history. The Victorian Influencer Who Peddled Poisonous Beauty Elixirs By Sabrina Imbler Sarah Rachel Russell grew up poor in London’s East End. After selling…
