As a lover of musical theatre this was such a joy to stumble upon! Women are often so easily overlooked and forgotten in the arts, so it was wonderful to see how much research and effort Jennifer Ashley Tepper put into making sure these women's stories were told and their work remembered. A fascinating deep dive into the world of musical theatre, this book spans the 18th century all the way up to these post-pandemic years, which means there was a of information to absorb, yet it never felt tedious or dry. The author's respect for these women and their craft was clear from page one, which made for a truly lovely read.

Thank you to Rowman & Littlefield, Applause, and NetGalley for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Jennifer Ashley Teppler! An icon writing about icons. I loved this look into the role of women writers in the history of the musical, and will definitely be giving this out as Christmas presents to my theatrically inclined friends!

Jennifer Ashley Tepper clearly went in-depth with her research for WOMEN WRITING MUSICALS. It was a very interesting and easily digestible read. I did really enjoy looking at her sources cited as well. It definitely makes you want to go into an in-depth rabbit hole of more niche musical theatre shows that people do not (but should) talk about enough today.

Women Writing Musicals was a fascinating read. After an introductory chapter on the 18th and 19th centuries, the book chapters were organised by decade, and within those chapters were a series of biographies showcasing the women writing for musical theatre in that time period. These paragraphs varied in length from a few lines to a couple of pages depending on the contributions made. On the one hand, I thought this layout worked well, and it resulted in a book that can easily be dipped into for just a few minutes at a time. On the other hand, part of me would have liked more of a narrative, placing each writer within the context of musical theatre at the time. By the end, though, I decided that probably wasn't necessary, as readers of this book are unlikely to be musical theatre novices and fans would already have a good sense of different periods of musical theatre history, having encountered style through the shows themselves or from other general books of musicals. There were small profile pictures of the women, but that was the only illustration throughout; a few additional images, such as show posters or snapshots of relevant sheet music, might have added a little more charm and variety. But overall I thought this book an excellent reference work for musical theatre fans and I am giving it four stars.