The Extra Ordinary Women of France

This is an introduction to 27 fascinating women that have influenced the whole of French history. France honours its famous people who have died by interring them in a mausoleum called the Panthéon in Paris. At the time of writing, there were 81 of these famous people interred there. After a visit, I suddenly realised that, of these 81 people, only 6 were women – Sophie Berthelot, Marie Curie, Genevieve de Gaulle Authonioz, Germaine Tillion, Josephine Baker and Simone Veil. This set me off on a voyage of discovery through French history and I found 21 women of extraordinary influence, some of the present day, whom I thought merited their place in the mausoleum. This book celebrates the lives of all 27 women – women who, in my opinion, were and are extraordinary and all of whom had a unique influence on French history or culture or the arts, sometimes all three. Extra ordinary!