An alternative Blue Plaque guide that recognises the contribution of London's most remarkable women

It's still possible to glimpse London through the eyes of past generations; many of the homes in which countless, nameless lives once played out are still with us. Less tangible are the stories of those whose legacy endures though their names may have been forgotten.

The homes and lives of more than 900 Londoners are commemorated by the Blue Plaque scheme, but fewer than a fifth of these are women. Allison Vale has sifted through the biographies of generations of extraordinary women to celebrate the lives of some of the most remarkable among them: women of courage, conviction and creativity who were vital to the making of modern London.

A Woman Lived Here celebrates women of science and engineering, social and political reform, journalism and the arts. Fearless trailblazers and uninhibited eccentrics take their place alongside women of quiet but compelling resilience. Of different races, creeds, classes and cultures - some born and bred in London, others immigrants - all of these women challenged and enhanced their world, leaving an indelible mark on ours.