History from a Woman's Perspective- A Book Blog

Sarah Siddons: The First Celebrity Actress Author: Jo Willett Genre: Nonfiction, History, Biography  Publisher: Pen and Sword History  Publication Date: 2024 Pages: 224 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: Sarah Siddons rose from a poor, traveling actor to Britain's greatest tragic actress by overcoming early career failures, becoming a superstar by her 30s, and skillfully managing her image and reputation in the eighteenth century.        Sarah Siddons grew up as a member of a family troupe of travelling actors, always poor and often hungry, resorting to foraging for turnips to eat. But before she was 30 she had become a superstar, her fees greater than any actor - male or female - had previously achieved.        Her rise was not easy. Her London debut, aged just 20, was a disaster and could have condemned her to poverty and anonymity. But the young actress – already a mo...

Sonora Author: Jenni L. Walsh  Genre: Historical Fiction  Publisher: Harper Muse Book Release Date: 2025 Pages: 400 Source: Publisher/Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: Inspired by a true story of one of the first female horse divers, Sonora explores a world of daring feats and extraordinary adventures set in the heyday of the American carnival scene.        Sonora Webster is penniless but plucky, and despite the looming Great Depression, she follows her wanderlust, answering an advert to dive with horses. Little does she know that she is about to be thrust into a world teeming with danger, excitement, and fierce competition.        As Sonora delves into the cutthroat world of show business, complete with trapeze aerial acts and juggling bears, her undeniable talent and unwavering dedication propel her into the limelight, making her a sensation, and after marrying the show runner, her en...

T he Windsor Affair Author: Melanie Benjamin  Genre: Historical Fiction  Publisher: Dell Book Release Date: June 2, 2026 Pages: 370 Source: Publisher/Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: A scandalous affair. A power struggle for the throne. A sensational rivalry between an English queen and an American social climber. In this electrifying novel, the New York Times bestselling author of The Swans of Fifth Avenue tells the story of the Abdication of Edward VIII—and the two women at the center of it all.       Feuding Windsor brothers and their wives—some things, it seems, never change. The Windsor Affair recreates the cataclysmic events that nearly toppled the monarchy and incited the power struggle between Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon and Wallis Simpson. Told from the perspective of both women, the novel propels readers into the fabulous world of the debonair Prince of Wales, café society of the 1930s, and the glittering private lives ...

  Mistress of Constancy (The Armillary Sphere, Story of Lady Jane Rochford #1) Author: G. Lawrence  Genre: Historical Fiction  Publisher: G. Lawrence  Book Release Date: 2021 Pages: 309 Source: Borrowed  Synopsis: Lady of the Tudor Court, servant of queens, courtier, wife, spy... and constant heart. This is the story of Jane Boleyn, Lady Rochford.        In death she would become infamous, yet in life passed often unseen. Jane Parker, daughter of the scholar Lord Morley, leaves her home at a tender age, embarking on a career in the dangerous Tudor Court. From the halls of her father's house to the palaces of London, from England to Calais and the Field of the Cloth of Gold Jane will travel, seeing much of this world, and others.      Promised in marriage to George Boleyn, Jane is drawn into the future of his family and their advancement... and as Anne Boleyn catches the eye of the King, Jane becomes pa...

Mrs. Benedict Arnold Author: Emma Parry Genre: Historical Fiction  Publisher: Zando Book Release Date: April 28, 2026 Pages: 309 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: A riveting reimagining of the young woman who almost ended the American Revolution.       Philadelphia in the 1770s. Peggy Shippen longs for the war she’s living through to end. Though not always appreciated at home, she finds her curiosity is welcomed by a lively and influential circle of friends, including a glamorous rising star in the British army, Captain John André.       When the war separates them, Peggy is devastated—both by his absence and the horrors of ongoing conflict—before finding consolation in a man whose heroics for the Patriots have captured the world’s imagination: General Benedict Arnold.      As she trades Loyalist balls for Patriot salons, entertaining the most prominent figure...

The Mysterious Life of Mrs. Nixson: The Life and Times of Washington’s Most Private First Lady Author: Heath Hardage Lee Genre: Nonfiction, History, Biography  Publisher: St. Martin’s Press Book Release Date: 2024 Pages: 403 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: A new, revolutionary look into the brilliant life of Pat Nixon.        In America’s collective consciousness, Pat Nixon has long been perceived as enigmatic. She was voted “Most Admired Woman in the World” in 1972 and made Gallup Poll’s top ten list of most admired women fourteen times. She survived the turmoil of the Watergate scandal with her popularity and dignity intact. The real Pat Nixon, however, bore little resemblance to the woman so often described as elusive, mysterious and “plastic” in the press. Pat married Richard Nixon in June of 1940. As the couple rose to prominence, Pat became Second Lady from 1953-1961 and then First Lady from 1969-1974...