This series is a tribute to women in Africa and the African diaspora from the ancient past to the present. This first volume weaves together oral tradition, folk legends and stories, songs and poems, historical accounts, and travelers' tales from Egypt to Southern Africa, from prehistory to the 19th century. These women rulers, warriors and heroines include Amanirenas, the queen of Kush who battled Roman armies and defeated them at Aswan, Daurama, mother of the seven Hausa kingdoms and Ana de Susa Nzinga, who resisted the Portuguese conquest of Angola. These women's stories are narrated in the style of African oral tradition and aim to prove absorbing, informative and accessible.

Foreword by: Howard Dobson
Translated by: Rose-Myriam Rejouis, Val Vinokurov