Search
Log in
  • Home

  • Categories

  • Audiobooks

  • E-books

  • Magazines

  • For kids

  • Top lists

  • Help

  • Download app

  • Use campaign code

  • Redeem gift card

  • Try free now
  • Log in
  • Language

    🇸🇪 Sverige

    • SE
    • EN

    🇧🇪 Belgique

    • FR
    • EN

    🇩🇰 Danmark

    • DK
    • EN

    🇩🇪 Deutschland

    • DE
    • EN

    🇪🇸 España

    • ES
    • EN

    🇫🇷 France

    • FR
    • EN

    🇳🇱 Nederland

    • NL
    • EN

    🇳🇴 Norge

    • NO
    • EN

    🇦🇹 Österreich

    • AT
    • EN

    🇨🇭 Schweiz

    • DE
    • EN

    🇫🇮 Suomi

    • FI
    • EN
  1. Books
  2. History
  3. Great occurrences and events

Read and listen for free for 14 days!

Cancel anytime

Try free now
3.0(2)

Unbecoming a Lady : The Forgotten Sluts and Shrews That Shaped America

A quippy and irreverent collection of illustrated profiles of the great American women who weren’t attractive, well-spoken, demure, or sinless enough to receive their rightful place in history, until now, from New York Times bestselling author Therese Oneill.

Slut. Shrew. Sinful. Scold. The 19th- and early 20th-century American women profiled in this collection were called all these names and worse when they were alive. And that’s just fine.

These glorious dames earned those monikers, and one hundred years later they can wear them proudly! They refused to conform to societal standards. They bucked everyday niceties and blazed their own trails. They were collectively unbecoming as women, but they forever changed what women can become.

With irresistible charm and laugh-out-loud impertinence, New York Times bestselling author Therese Oneill chronicles the lives of eighteen unbecoming ladies whose audacity, courage, and sheer disdain for lady-like expectations left them out of so many history books. Curious readers will learn about forgotten heroines such as:

-Dr. Mary Edwards Walker: who, despite being the only woman ever awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, was shunned and forgotten due to her insistence on wearing pants in public.

-Elizabeth Packard: whose careful record of her own unjust incarceration in a 19th century madhouse by her husband (her crime: not wanting to be Presbyterian anymore) led to nationwide law reforms to protect the rights of those with mental health issues.

-Lilian Gilbreth: best remembered for being the real-life mom of Cheaper by the Dozen but who probably should be remembered for scientifically removing the stigma of the sanitary napkin and designing the modern-day kitchen.

-And many more!

With dozens of illustrations and historical photographs throughout, Unbecoming a Lady shines a light on unforgettable, impressive women who deserve to be remembered.


Author:

  • Therese Oneill

Narrators:

  • Betsy Foldes Meiman
  • Chanté McCormick

Format:

  • Audiobook

Duration:

  • 3 h 42 min

Language:

English

Categories:

  • History
  • Great occurrences and events
  • Society and Social Sciences
  • Society
  • Warfare
  • Social science
  • Society and Social Sciences
  • Gender and LGBT
  • Comics and humor
  • Humor

More by Therese Oneill

Skip the list
  1. Unbecoming a Lady : The Forgotten Sluts and Shrews Who Shaped America

    Therese Oneill

    book

Others have also read

Skip the list
  1. Science of the Magical : From the Holy Grail to Love Potions to Superpowers

    Matt Kaplan

    book
  2. A Higher World : Scotland 1707-1815

    Michael Fry

    book
  3. Slippery Beast : A True Crime Natural History, with Eels

    Ellen Ruppel Shell

    audiobook
  4. Human Blues : A Novel

    Elisa Albert

    book
  5. The happy money journey : How to make good decisions and live life on your terms

    Phoebe Blamey

    audiobook
  6. Get Your Money Right : Understand Your Money and Make It Work for You

    audiobook
  7. Math in Drag

    Kyne Santos

    audiobook
  8. Making Monsters

    David Livingstone Smith

    audiobook
  9. Shock Induction

    Chuck Palahniuk

    audiobookbook
  10. What Does History Teach? : Two Edinburgh Lectures

    John Stuart Blackie

    book
  11. Refinery29 Money Diaries: Everything You've Ever Wanted To Know About Your Finances... And Everyone Else's

    Lindsey Stanberry

    audiobookbook
  12. A History of Freedom of Thought

    J. B. Bury

    book

  • 2 books

    Therese Oneill

    Therese Oneill is the New York Times bestselling author of Unmentionable: The Victorian Lady’s Guide to Sex, Marriage, and Manners and Ungovernable: The Victorian Parent’s Guide to Raising Flawless Children. She lives in Oregon with her family.

    Read more

Help and contact


About us

  • Our story
  • Career
  • Press
  • Accessibility
  • Partner with us
  • Investor relations
  • Instagram
  • Facebook

Explore

  • Categories
  • Audiobooks
  • E-books
  • Magazines
  • For kids
  • Top lists

Popular categories

  • Crime
  • Biographies and reportage
  • Fiction
  • Feel-good and romance
  • Personal development
  • Children's books
  • True stories
  • Sleep and relaxation

Nextory

Copyright © 2025 Nextory AB

Privacy Policy · Terms ·
Excellent4.3 out of 5