Collections of journalism consistently fail to represent the contribution made by female journalists to newspapers and magazines, as if political analysis and tales of flak-jacketed derring-do are the only truly valid forms of the discipline. And yet women make up half of readers, and more than half of newspaper and magazine staff.

By bringing together the best - the most influential, incisive, controversial, affecting, entertaining - pieces of journalism written by women, this anthology redresses this imbalance. Organized by theme, it also gives a sense of the massive changes that have taken place in women's lives since the beginning of the suffragette movement.

Above all, this is a collection of superlative writing from the best women in the business, selected by the Sunday Times's most senior female editor.