You've probably seen the art from the most popular Tarot deck in the world, the Rider-Waite Tarot. Until recently, the artist never got much credit. Pamela Colman Smith was a fascinating woman - biracial, lesbian, a suffragist, exhibited in New York galleries by Alfred Steiglitz but underpaid and struggling through lifelong poverty.

Even if you're not into Tarot, the book is worth reading for its look at how difficult women artists had it. Pamela didn't just draw the deck, she contributed much of its mystic conceptualism yet never got any credit. She was paid less than minimum wage and received no royalties. Her name was omitted from publication. Instead Arthur Waite took the credit and put his name on the deck.

While her art was praised by people from William Butler Yeats to Steiglitz, Pamela found it difficult to gain any traction or success. She was half-Jamaican, was in 2 long-term lesbian relationships, and worked passionately for women's rights. Her entire life is an example of the erasure creative women faced throughout history even when they were able to avoid marriage and motherhood. It's incredible to think of how many talented female writers, sculptors, composers, and artists were either blocked from creating in life or had their work lost after death.

Anyway, the book is a great read - definitely recommend.