A NEW book will uncover little-known information about women who lived in Somerset, including the Ilminster and Crewkerne area.

Unsung Women in Somerset, by Helen Pugh, will focus on women with courage, kindness, innovation, and even some who smashed the rules.

The book charters the lives of real-life and legendary women who inhabited Somerset from pre-Roman to modern times.

One of the sections will talk about a patroness who was buried in Ilminster, a female landowner in Crewkerne, and an ancient palace in South Petherton.

Helen went to secondary school in Bath, and then attended the University of Bristol.

After more than eight years living abroad, she returned to Somerset in 2018 and lived in Shepton Mallet with her family for four years before moving to Midsomer Norton.

Readers will meet most women through a short story, followed by historical notes about the woman and a chapter bibliography that shows the meticulous research that has gone into the book.

Most chapters will also include a Quick Tribute section that briefly mentions other interesting women from the same century.

This book is not a conventional narrative of Somerset’s history in that it focuses on women and celebrates the diversity of Somerset’s past as well.

For instance, readers will meet an African princess and a disabled artist, both of whom survived and thrived despite the odds.

The handy A–Z index outlines every Somerset place name mentioned in the book.

There are over 160 in total. Unsung Women in Somerset will be available as a paperback, hardback, and ebook, from November 20. 

Helen is currently working on a Junior Edition of this book and has already published books about South America, including Jungle-tastic Tales and Inca-tastic Tales.