Hee, I don't read bodice rippers but there are too many historical women for me to remember which one might have had a biography in English. In the last week I've discussed these three for starters:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roxelana

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kösem_Sultan

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juliana_Dias_da_Costa

It does sound as if you need a history of biography, yes.