They were workers and autodidacts, and as early as two hundred years ago they were advocating women’s freedom and equality. The freedom of women, they proclaimed, would bring freedom for all. Caroline Arni tells the story of the «Saint-Simoniennes,» revealing the radical nature of their thinking – including positions that may still unsettle readers today.

Equally revolutionary was Anna Kuliscioff (1854–1925), whose letters have been translated from Italian into German for the first time by Michelle Steinbeck and Marina Galli. She was a rebel, socialist, physician, feminist, intellectual, single mother, and anti-fascist, who at times lived in Switzerland. What defines the fearless thinking and writing of these early feminists – and can we continue to build on it today?

*The English title is given for reference only.