Helen G. Pugh’s New Book Spotlights 366 Days of Unsung Somerset Women 🗓️
Historian, researcher, and dedicated author Helen G. Pugh is set to release the paperback edition of her ambitious new work, On This Day in Somerset: A Calendar of Women, on November 3rd. This book offers a compelling and deeply researched exploration of her home county. Celebrating a unique and noteworthy woman connected to Somerset for every single day of the year. Spanning over 2,000 years—from pre-Roman times right up to the modern day—the book transforms regional history into a personal, daily journey.
The project is the latest, highly focused effort in Pugh's ongoing mission to ensure that "herstory" is given equal, prominent space alongside traditional "history." She meticulously researches and writes to pull remarkable women from the obscurity or footnotes that often accompany conventional historical records. Giving women the voice and recognition they deserve.
A Year of Discovery: The Scope of Somerset's Female Figures
The calendar format is designed to make the county's rich heritage highly accessible. Allowing readers to engage directly with history by discovering the significant woman associated with their own birthday or any other special date.
This approach highlights the sheer diversity of female experience and contribution within a single geographical area. The subjects featured in the book are incredibly varied. Showcasing a blend of real-life figures and powerful legends. They include women from diverse backgrounds, interests, and occupations. Many of whom were unrecognised or even actively marginalized during their lifetimes.
- Political Pioneers: Including the stories of fierce suffragettes who relentlessly fought for women’s right to vote.
- Wartime Heroes: Highlighting courageous wartime spies, codebreakers, and resourceful women on the home front who sustained the war effort.
- Civic and Cultural Builders: Featuring figures ranging from medieval nuns and prioresses to local artists, innovative writers, and dedicated humanitarian workers whose contributions shaped their communities and industries.
For the Wellington and surrounding area, the book includes local narratives such as a tenacious war victim, a tireless local fundraiser, and a committed humanitarian worker. Firmly anchoring the county’s vast history in relatable, human stories.
Building on a Legacy of Intrepid Herstory
On This Day in Somerset serves as the chronological companion to Pugh’s highly praised 2023 title, Unsung Women in Somerset. Both works demonstrate her core passion for uncovering marginalized histories.
Pugh is widely known for her dedication to correcting historical erasure. A theme she has explored worldwide in her other major works, including:
- Intrepid Dudettes of the Inca Empire: A major non-fiction historical account that courageously re-centres the narrative on the powerful women, goddesses, and leaders of the Inca civilization. Figures often overlooked in narratives dominated by male conquerors and emperors.
- Works celebrating intellectual agency like the stories of pioneer mathematician Ada Lovelace.
- Inca-tastic Tales and Jungle-tastic Tales: Educational children's books that use accessible storytelling to teach young readers about complex South American history and culture. Ensuring a new generation learns the full, ethical history.
Whether she is spotlighting an Andean empress or a local suffrage activist, Helen G. Pugh consistently champions the idea that quality research must be used to restore female agency to the historical record. Ensuring that these remarkable contributions are acknowledged and celebrated.
Discover 366 days of women who shaped Somerset history
A daily calendar of local heroines, from suffragettes to spies.
By Helen G. Pugh.
On This Day in Somerset: A Calendar of Women will be available in paperback from November 3rd.
The Peoples Hub have just pre-ordered a copy!