This was fun and quick read. 50 stories of interesting women from history that you likely have not heard of. If you’re a fan of history and/or true crime, go for it.

I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I liked this book. It was a perfect "purse book" - the chapters are easy to read while in a waiting room or on public transportation. There was a lot of ladies in this book that I had never heard of, and the details given about them made them very real - it was not just a list of things they did. I also liked that although every woman in the book broke the law, not all of them were "bad" ladies.  All in all, I thought it was a good mix of ladies picked, and a good read.

Perfectly fine book, but nothing too interesting as a lot of the stories are based on conjecture. No citations in the text of the book, which annoys me.

I received this book for free in exchange  for a review, but the opinions are my own.

I enjoyed the concept.  The writing was entertaining.  I liked the topic.  Something was missing though, I found myself zoning out often.

This is a collection of 50 stories about lawbreaking women in the 1800s to early 1900s. Some of the crimes are small and not really a crime in this day and age and the stories are only 3 or so pages long. It was a quick, droll read. I would have preferred to read these stories with a bit of research to them.

A fun and informative introduction to 50 interesting women in history!

Erika Owen has put together a wonderful list of 50 lawbreaking women in history. She takes a very loose view on "lawbreaking", including actual criminals as well as women who refused to follow social conventions of their time. Some of these women are to be admired for their bravery; others, not so much.

I enjoyed the wide variety of women and their crimes. We got snippets of many different lives and time periods through their stories.

3.5 of 5.0 Stars     This is kind of a change of pace, reading about women from history who made it in a man’s world by taking up a life of crime. I’ve read a few of this type of book, but I’m not familiar with this author. She writes this collection of stories about 50 women who made a living through crime, beginning back in about the 1500s, to the mid 1900s. Some are the more popularly known, my favorites are some of the little or unknowns. I read these type of books to learn about new people in crime from history that I’ve not read about before. Or, at least have forgotten about until I get my memory refreshed, which sometimes happens. These women are split into categories, which are: Pirates; Gamblers; Bootleggers; Serial Killers; Madams; Outlaws, Gunslingers & Bandits; and lastly, Fraudsters, lots to enjoy here.

I found a few favorites among the new ones to me, as I’m sure you may too. This was quite an enjoyable read for me, I’d go through a few at a time, depending on the length, in between binge watching true crime on the new Discovery+ channel. I’ve been having a great time with that, especially the no commercials version. I’m still on my free week trial. The 50 women made a perfect breaktime read. Advance electronic review copy was provided by NetGalley, author Erika Owen, and the publisher.

Personal point: I have a guilty pleasure for true crime, criminology, crime history, and similar subjects. 
This book is a brilliant guide (sometimes colorful and outrageous) of female pirates, fraudsters, gamblers, bootleggers, serial killers, madams, and outlaws in this illustrated book of lawbreaking and notorious women throughout the ages.
Something I want to point out is how much I appreciate that each chapter on each woman was not only kept short (enough to be insightful, but also brief enough you want to explore), but each woman was divided into sections by what kind of criminal each woman was. It was easier to keep track of who was who without it being confusing. 
Illustrations are awesome! 

Thank you NetGalley and Tiller Press for the ARC for my honest review.

I loved this book! So cool to compile all of these amazing (and sometimes terrible) women! The author has several different types of stories from pirates to serial killers to saints! If you're looking to enrich your history of badass women this book is for you! The author also adds images as well to supplement the text! Loved it all!

LawBreaking Ladies is a collection of ladies through history who broke the law in one way or another. We have killers, gamblers, and thieves galore, telling how they played a part and not just men were criminals through the ages. 

This was a fun little collection if you like little tidbits and facts, especially if you’re interested in women’s history from a lawbreaking perspective. It does cover quite an array of crimes and women, so there’s a little bit of something for everyone to learn from and find something new or interesting to them. 

I did find it unfortunate how short the blurbs were about everyone though. Each was only a page to three long, so there’s not a lot of in-depth information about the women we’re introduced to. It is a good starting point for where to continue your research if you find someone you’re interested in learning more about though. Basically a really fun little coffee-table book to flip through where you’re feeling up for it.

"It's just as important to know the fact from the fiction, as well as how fiction was inspired by fact." "[Here are] fifty little known and legendary women [daring, defiant and dangerous] who made history for their lawbreaking ways from the fifteenth century all the way to the mid-1900s." "Women [the fairer sex] were usually not the first suspects police considered...juries often found it hard to imagine women committing murders, robberies, and other illegal acts...women involved in criminal activities often managed to escape authorities, arrests and convictions based on their perceived charm and looks."

Jacquotte "Back from the Dead Red" Delahaye, turning to piracy for a steady income, plundered in the Caribbean. When other pirate crews put a price on her head, she faked her death and continued to pillage disguised as a man. Anne Bonny was a redheaded Irish pirate. She was reckless, cursing all the while, and was ready to execute any feats to achieve her end game. Sentenced to death, her claim of "pregnancy" helped gain her freedom. Was she really pregnant?

The gambling world of the Wild West attracted women since brothels could serve as gaming dens. Madams might deal the cards. The game Faro, a game of chance, was wildly popular. In the mid-1800s, Maria Gertrudis Barcelo purchased a hotel and casino. "While a minor fine for running an illegal gambling den may have made her a lawbreaking lady, she had a huge, charitable heart." Her hotel and casino were a "recreational hub" for anyone and everyone-no social class, wealth or race restrictions. In 1849, Eleanor Dumont (Madame Mustache) was a known gambler in San Francisco. "By societal standards, [gambling was] not a career a woman should have pursued. Eleanor was undeterred. When someone ran out of money at her table, she would buy them a glass of milk or treat them to champagne."

People were willing to risk jail time or massive fines during the years of Prohibition to keep the liquor flowing. Until the age of 90, Maggie Bailey sold booze out of her kitchen. Maggie was only prosecuted once, in the 1940s. "She would enter a courtroom in her signature dress and apron, topped with a grandmotherly head of gray hair...she stated that bootlegging 'kept her alive...kept her young." She, herself, was a teetotaler!

Elizabeth Bathory was "one of history's most prolific serial killers according to the Guinness World Records". "Elizabeth fought to maintain her looks after becoming a mother, and she believed that the best way to do this was by ingesting the blood of young women". Elizabeth was a vampire.

"Plenty of ladies fell into the category of 'outlaw' 'gunslinger' or 'bandit'." Mary Fields (Stagecoach Mary), however, was not an outlaw. As an emancipated slave, she would become the second woman, but the first African American woman to be employed by the United States Postal Service. Her route was in Cascade, Montana. "Her stature, gun-toting confidence, and tendency to wear men's clothing helped her protect the stagecoach, a job she held for 8 years."

"Lawbreaking Ladies: 50 Remarkable Stories of Criminal Women Throughout History" by Erika Owen is a well researched true crime read. The short vignettes will whet one's appetite to explore additional readings on many of these trailblazing women, some admirable, some not so much. This was a fascinating read I highly recommend.

Thank you Tiller Press and Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a series of short vignettes about women throughout history who were definitely NOT well-behaved! The stories encompass pirates, brothel owners, robbers, serial killers . I'm not sure what age group this book is written for; there is a glossary of terms at the beginning of each section but the crimes are fairly detailed and don't seem to be "sanitized" for a younger audience.

I found many of the stories interesting, but others were very light in details and because many of the cases are in the same time period and overlap with the same individuals, some of the stories were not particularly interesting or distinctive. 3 stars.

4/5 stars.

Lawbreaking Ladies includes stories about 50~ lawbreaking women in history who may or may have not been forgotten in history. The stories were easy to read, summarising the backgrounds of the women featured and delivering information about their crimes in a clear and succinct way. For a lot of these stories I wanted to learn more about them, which goes to show how fascinating these women were, though I know that for a lot of them their was bereft information in history about them and only so much that can be found - and for that I am glad I got to read at least an overview of what they were like. 

Overall, it was an informative read and I look forward to looking into and learning more about the women featured in this book.

This book was really interesting and enlightening.  I loved learning about these women!  As a woman who really tries to help other women, I found these stories about women who broke the mold so inspiring!  I especially loved the pirates.  I thought the book was well-written, engaging, and hit just the right balance between story telling and facts.  I feel like this is the type of book that really draws the reader in and helps the reader stand in the protagonist's shoes.  I was also surprised at the number of women in this book who were new to me; I consider myself well-informed on women's issues and women's history, and many of these women were unheard of for me prior to reading this novel.  Overall, I think anyone who needs a little inspiration will enjoy this book.  I liked the writing style of the book, and I others with a searching, open heart will like the style as well.  Overall, a great addition to any bookshelf!

Author Erika Owen brings readers 50 profiles on fascinating lawbreaking women throughout history and their impact.  These include female pirates, serial killers, con-women, outlaws and madams. Most of the time our descriptions of women in history are cleaned up to make them look like innocent role models, but not this one 

For lovers of true crime, or the less-known ladies of history, this is a great guide. The descriptions are short and sweet, making it easy to blow through this book in an afternoon, or take it in one story at a time. 

Lawbreaking Ladies is available March 16, 2021.

I love love love these type of books: nonfiction books that are fast and fun and easy to read. I especially love the different women who were highlighted, i had only ever heard of maybe 10% of them, and I read a ton of collective biographies. The entries are a smidge too short for my liking, but I think that's because there just isn't a lot out there on some women. Maybe could have used some more diversity in terms of race and sexuality, but overall, solid.

I have mix feelings about this book. I first start reading it the night before a long flight, and at first, I did not liked it. The book tells short (and superficial) stories about 50 lawbreaking ladies from the 15th century to the mid-1900s. I can imagine that the lack of depth in the stories are due to the difficulty in access documents and gather more information on each of these characters. Plus, the book proposes to tell 50 stories, so it is to be expected that none of them will be very detailed.
That said, and as I had plenty of time to read the book during my flight... I decided to give it a chance, and I read the entire book in 3 days, actually enjoyed many of the stories, and learned couple new facts.
The book is very entertaining, diverse, and humorous. I enjoyed the fact that the author is simply telling these women's stories, without any judgment of their character. It is a book that can be devoured as I did; or savored slowly by reading 1 or 2 stories a day and doing some extra research to complement the information on the most appreciated stories.
In general, I would say this is a book that deserves a chance, just like I did it, and did not regret it.

I loved this! I think I fell a little bit in love with most of the women Erika Owen wrote about, partly based on how she wrote their stories. Erika Owen wrote beautiful stories about most of these women, while humanizing them and making sure that we remembered that they DID commit crimes and should be held to the same standard as their male counterparts. I absolutely loved the sections about pirates, and outlaws. I Knew most of the women already, but I was introduced to a few that I've never heard of, and definetely want to find out more about! Alexander Wright's illustrations were beautiful, and added all the more to it.

This book has been on my radar for a while and I was so happy when I was approved for an arc. I’ve read a few books like this in a similar format showcasing women that have either done amazing groundbreaking things or are very notable, but I had yet to read one about the trailblazing women who dared to break the law and gender norms.
I must admit, many of the women mentioned in this book I had not heard about, although a few of them are shrouded in legend. These women came from many walks of life, and all of them lead lives riddled with crime- even so, you can’t help but admire their fight to get ahead in the world and survive, some of them had good intentions, others not so much. 
Even so, this was an incredibly fascinating and entertaining book, I really enjoyed my time reading this book.
4 stars

** ARC provided by Tiller Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

What a lovely book!! 

This book is about women divided into 7 parts: Pirates, Gamblers, Bootleggers, Serial Killers, Madams, Outlaws/Gunslingers & Bandits, and Fraudsters. 

I really loved that this book isn't just about women who have committed a violent crime but also about women who are considered criminals because they are challenging society on what's "acceptable" behavior for a woman in their time. My favorite sections were serial killers (surprised?) and outlaws. I was happy to see some names that I'm familiar with and still love to read about: Fox Sisters, Elizabeth Bathory, Lavinia Fisher and Bonnie from Bonnie & Clyde. It was also very cool to read about Pearl the Outlaw, who is one of the famous stagecoach robbers of Phoenix, Arizona where I'm from! It ended up being brief snippets of the 50 women, meant to be more of a quick recap of their lifespan and their criminal nature. Knowing that their stories were meant to be brief, I do still wish there was just more information to consume. Must have more! There were some new names that I'd love to follow up with and find full length nonfiction works about their life. 

Thank you to NetGalley, Tiller Press and Erika Owen for a free copy in exchange for an honest review. I will definitely be purchasing a copy for my bookshelf!