Dr Julie Wheelwright is a senior lecturer in the English department at City, University of London. She is the author of Amazons and Military Maids, The Fatal Lover: Mata Hari and the Myth of Women in Espionage, and a biography of her ancestor who was taken captive by indigenous people in 18th-century Maine, Esther: The Remarkable True Story of Esther Wheelwright. A former print and broadcast journalist whose career included producing and contributing to documentaries for BBC radio and television, Channel 4, and the History Channel in Canada, she has written widely on women in the intelligence services and in the military.

'A long overdue assertion on the role of women on the battlefield. This book is going straight on my daughter's bookshelf.'

Dan Snow, historian, TV presenter and broadcaster

'Sisters in Arms shows the many faces of women in combat - from the myths of the ancient world to the headline-grabbing conflicts of today - with a scrupulous attention to their different contexts, but a common compassion for their struggles and achievements.'

Boyd Tonkin, journalist and author

'Wheelwright not only uncovers neglected female warriors, but she brings their temperaments, talents, fancies, and foibles to life.'

Professor Joanna Bourke, Birkbeck, University of London

Sisters in Arms charts the evolution of women in combat, from the Scythian warriors who inspired the Amazonian myth, to the passing soldiers and sailors of the eighteenth century, and on to the re-emergence of women as official members of the armed forces in the twentieth century. Author Julie Wheelwright traces our fascination with these forgotten heroines, using their own words, including official documents, diaries, letters and memoirs, to bring their experiences vividly to life. She examines their contemporary legacy and the current role of women in the armed forces, while calling into question the enduring relationship between masculinity and combat.

A long overdue assertion on the role of women on the battlefield. This book is going straight on my daughter's bookshelf.

Julie Wheelwright discovers and recounts the lives of extraordinary women with a historian's craft and a storyteller's flair. Sisters in Arms shows the many faces of women in combat - from the myths of the ancient world to the headline-grabbing conflicts of today - with a scrupulous attention to their different contexts, but a common compassion for their struggles and achievements. Her fascinating subjects cease to be freaks, marvels or outliers but become part of our shared history of war, peace and change.

It is always a treat to read Julie Wheelwright. She not only uncovers neglected female warriors, but she brings their temperaments, talents, fancies, and foibles to life. While Wheelwright is sensitive to each of these women's unique circumstances, she also shows that they shared hopes and dreams for less gender-constrained worlds.

Julie Wheelwright removes the shackles of gender in this powerful feminist history revealing an army of fearless unforgettable warrior women in an inspiring and passionate history of their lives.

Sisters in Arms is an important 21st-century revision of a pioneering 20th-century work of women's history. Julie Wheelwright's lively, entertaining, and scholarly book combines elements of gender studies, popular culture, and military history in a manner that brings fresh insights to the stories of women who lived as men.

A superb survey. From the Silk Roads to the trenches, Sisters in Arms brings to light a trove of fascinating and hidden histories.