"A Short History of Women" spans a century, narrating the story of five generations of women from one family. From the suffragette Dorothy Trevor Townsend in 1914, whose final act of protest is to starve herself for women's rights, the novel traces the imprints of her sacrifice on her descendants. Her legacy continues through a daughter striving for academic excellence in America to a niece finding disillusionment in domesticity and a great-granddaughter grappling with post-9/11 anxieties in Manhattan. Through their unique voices, Kate Walbert explores the evolving challenges and questions faced by women, and the enduring impact of the Victorian 'Woman Question'. The Townsend women's lives reflect a tapestry of personal ambition, societal expectations, and familial pressures, as each generation seeks to define its own voice amidst the echoes of the past.