The Catholic priesthood may be one of the world’s most long-standing boys’ clubs. They have always maintained a strict policy of “No Girls Allowed,” except for nuns who are allowed to wash floors for priests. Absolutely no girls, eh? Hmmm.

As a historical mystery author, much of my work is devoted to setting the prehistoric record straight. When I say prehistory, I don’t mean when cavemen roamed the earth. I mean the undocumented story of civilized cultures that predated cuneiform. For example, you’ve all heard of Helen of Troy—

People who live in Mongolia love their wrestling. For the past thousand years, they’ve spent hours watching each other getting pushed and shoved around until somebody falls down. I blame it on a lack of streaming services.

It’s a well-known fact that patriarchal cultures tend to dismiss and underestimate women. I’m always delighted to note the ways in which androcrats shoot themselves in the foot by devaluing half their population.

This essay is devoted to a mother of epic proportions. Her name was Tomyris, queen of the Massagetae (6th century BCE). She’s quite famous if you know anything about the military squabbles that constitute the bulk of history.

Catherine Littlefield (aka Caty) had an unconventional mind. At dinner parties, she liked to quiz the men at the table about politics and debate the issues of the day with them. This was suspicious behavior in the 1770s.