Author guest post from Esther Freeman.

It was 4am on a July morning in 2013, which for once the British weather was not spoiling. While still dark, the air was warm, and the beginning of the dawn chorus was breaking through. I climbed into the back of a van with a small group of friends, and we drove to The Shard at London Bridge.

You may remember this day. Perhaps you were one of the commuters coming out of the train or tube station, who saw the six Greenpeace women climbing, what at the time was, the tallest building in Europe. Or maybe you saw it on the news, or trending on Twitter. It was quite the moment.

But no, I wasn’t one of those brave women scaling the side of the building. For legal reasons I can’t say too much about what I was doing there, but it was a day that sent me on my own unique journey.

While chatting to another volunteer, he suggested we create a map of all the different places Greenpeace had done actions in London. That one sentence sent my mind whirling. Not specifically about Greenpeace, but about women. Because watching the climbers risk their lives for a cause had a profound impact on me. I started thinking about all the places in London that women had been willing to sacrifice their liberty for social justice, from the suffragettes chaining themselves to railings outside Buckingham Palace, to Miss World protestors at the Royal Albert Hall. When I got home I couldn’t stop thinking about what these brave rebels did, and how much we owe them.

This was the start of a decade long journey that has taken me through archives and libraries; given me the privilege of interviewing Emmeline Pankhurst’s great-granddaughter; and one of those Miss World protestors. Now I am delighted to pull the best of those stories together in my new book, Great Women of London: the rebels who inspired others.

There have been a number of books out recently about women from history, which is great to see. I’ve tried to do something a little different with this one though. I’ve curated a selection of stories that you won’t see anywhere else. Expect lesbian suffragettes, a 103-year-old Iraq war protestor, and the women who defeated the BNP.

There are surprises too. There’s the story of what women in the East End taught Gandhi. I don’t shy away from the darker side either. There’s a fake news scandal involving Emmeline Pankhurt’s daughter, Christabel, that would put Donald Trump to shame.

I’ve loved spending time with these women on the written page. I’ve learnt so much from them, and it’s made me reflect on what is happening in the world today. When you learn how these women organised, you start to see where we’ve been going wrong in our current battles for justice.

The world is, of course, a different place now. As Women Unite Against Racism activist, Julie Begum, says, there will never be another wave of migrant activists in the East End like the Bengalis, or the Jews before them. And anti-protest and trade union laws are an on-going challenge for activists. Yet seeing how these women used collective action to overcome enormous challenges is so inspiring. That is definitely a lesson we can all take home when we are feeling powerless and like we can’t change anything. Alone that might be true, but together we can achieve so much.

Order your copy here.