From Apaches to astronauts, from pioneers to professionals, from rodeo riders to entrepreneurs, and from Civil War survivors to civil rights activists, this collection of essays of influential Texas women is an important contribution to Texas history, women's history, and the history of the nation.

The biographies and essays in this collection illustrate an uncommon diversity among Texas women, reflecting experiences ranging from those of dispossessed enslaved women to wealthy patrons of the arts. That history also captures the ways in which women's lives reflect both personal autonomy and opportunities to engage in the public sphere.