Published in association with the Royal Astronomical Society.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 261-264) and index.

Introduction -- 1. A Clever and Determined Wife -- 2. The Labyrinths of Heaven -- 3. Martyr to Astronomy -- 4. The Art of Navigation -- 5. Celebrities -- 6. Queen of Science -- 7. In the Shadow of Giant Mirrors -- 8. The Admiral's Circle -- 9. Intrepid Travellers -- 10. Adventurous Amateurs -- 11. The New Astronomy -- 12. The Scholarly Sisters -- 13. Slave-Wage Earners -- 14. Sunspots and Corona -- 15. Mountain Paradise -- 16. Mapping the Moon -- 17. The end of an era; the beginning of a new.

Careers in astronomy for women, as in other sciences, were a rarity in Britain and Ireland until well into the twentieth century. This book investigates the place of women in astronomy before that era, recounted in the form of biographies of about 25 women born between 1650 and 1900 who in varying capacities contributed to its progress during the eighteenth, nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. All deserve to be remembered as interesting individuals in an earlier opportunity-poor age. Placed in roughly chronological order, their lives constitute a sample thread in the story of female entry into the male world of science. The book is aimed at astronomers, amateur astronomers, historians of science, and promoters of women in science, but being written in non-technical language it is intended to be of interest also to educated readers generally.