Sisters of Scandal

Dirty secrets, wild romps, unruly behaviour, unapologetic rebels, wild seductresses and badasses galore ... History is HOT.

Did you know that women occupy only 0.5 per cent of the historical record? Diving into the lives of queens, witches, bitches and It Girls throughout the ages – from Cleopatra, Marie Antoinette and Mata Hari to the British PM’s secret weapon: Pamela Churchill Harriman – this is a fabulously illustrated compendium of those women (from the well known to the more obscure) who broke boundaries, rules and occasionally limbs, to carve out their place in the male-dominated history books.

From Alva Vanderbilt’s $6 million ball to Empress Sisi’s meat mask, we look at the boldest, most indecent and totally unruly things that pissed men off enough they simply HAD to write them down!

About the Author

Ainslie Harvey is the creator behind the viral internet sensation Hot History. With a self-professed love of all things history and all things hot, Ainslie started her TikTok account in 2023 covering everything from the Romanovs to the Titanic. 26 million likes and nearly 400,000 followers later, she has transformed her passion into a thriving business dedicated to not only covering the events of the past but changing our relationship with it forever – especially for women.

A former marketing executive and serial entrepreneur, Ainslie loves dogs, dirty martinis and anything with men in white (slightly damp) billowing shirts. She lives in Sydney, Australia with her husband and her dog, Governor.