History from a Woman's Perspective- A Book Blog

The Tragic Life of Lady Jane Grey Author: Beverley Adams Genre: Nonfiction, History, Biography  Publisher: Pen and Sword History  Book Release Date: 2024 Pages: 224 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis : Explores the life and tragic fate of Lady Jane Grey, the nine-day queen of England, examining her role amid the political chaos following King Edward VI's death and her contested claim to the throne.           Lady Jane Grey, the nine-day queen is considered to be one of the most tragic characters in English history. In July 1553 when King Edward VI died at the age of just 15 years old, the Tudor dynasty fell into chaos. The king had no legitimate male heirs and was determined his half-sisters Mary and Elizabeth would not inherit his throne, despite his father Henry VIII stating in his will that they should. We are led to believe that on Edward's instructions his cousin Lady Jane Grey was to b...

The Family Behind the Girl Scouts of America: Lives of the Kinzie-Gordon Clan, 1750s-1950s  Author: Melissa Langley Biegert Genre: Nonfiction, History, Biography  Publisher: McFarland Book Release Date: July 24, 2026 Pages: 323 Source: This book was given to me by the Publicist in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis : In 1912, Juliette "Daisy" Gordon Low launched what became one of the 20th century's most successful organizations for girls, eclipsing the generations of male politicians, business leaders, and scoundrels who had brought prosperity and notoriety to her family. Her parents' marriage united two leading American families--the Northern Kinzies and the Southern Gordons--and nearly ruptured because of the U.S. Civil War, yet their unwavering love and support, as well as that of her siblings, helped her to overcome physical challenges and a scandalous divorce battle that shocked Victorian society.        Spanning 200 years across ...

The Queen’s Spade Author: Sarah Raughley Genre: YA, Historical Fiction  Publisher: HarperCollins Book Release Date: 2025 Pages: 415 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis : In this riveting historical thriller inspired by true-life events, Belladonna meets Bridgerton as revenge, romance, and twisted secrets take center stage in Victorian England’s royal court when Sally, a kidnapped African princess and goddaughter to Queen Victoria, plots her way to take down the monarchy that stole her from her homeland.        A young lady can take only so many injuries before humiliation and insult forge a vow of revenge. . . .        The year is 1862 and murderous desires are simmering in England. Nineteen-year-old Sarah Bonetta Forbes (Sally), once a princess of the Egbado Clan, desires one thing above all else: revenge against the British Crown and its system of colonial "humanitarianism,...

      Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Christopher Leahy and Sharon Williams Leahy. They have recently published  Presidentess , which is a biography of First Lady Julia Gardiner Tyler. In this interview, we discussed why Julia Gardiner Tyler was considered America's most controversial First Lady. We also discussed what impact Julia Gardiner Tyler played in shaping the role of First Lady. Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Leahy! Why is Julia Gardiner Tyler considered a controversial First Lady? Sharon: Julia was a woman of striking contradictions. She was innovative and influential as First Lady, but after her time in the White House, she adapted to the slaveholding society of Virginia. She publicly pushed back against British criticism of the American slave system.  During the Civil War, her private correspondence also reveals strong Confederate sympathies.  We wanted to tell the whole story of her accomplishments, as well as the beliefs and choices that ...

  Presidentess: The Life of First Lady Julia Gardiner Author: Christopher J. Leahy & Sharon Williams Leahy Genre: Nonfiction, History, Biography  Publisher: University Press of Kansas Publication Date: September 29, 2026 Pages: 573 Source: This book was given to me by the publicist in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: The first full biography of the controversial and complex First Lady Julia Gardiner Tyler—an unjustly scandalized New Yorker, the second wife to President John Tyler, and a savvy and consequential political figure in the age of the Civil War.         Myths, rumors, and gossip have long circulated around First Lady Julia Gardiner Tyler. Commonly believed to be politically insignificant, most of our fascination with Tyler surrounds her reputation as a highly desired superficial flirt. This salacious mythos was based on her status in a politically influential New York family and the popular rumor that she posed for ...

The Intimate Afterlife of Myth: Ancient Stories for the Inner Life Author: Venus Gunyeli Genre: Nonfiction, History, Biography, Religion, Mythology Publisher: Venus Gunyeli Book Release Date: August 14, 2026 Pages: 132 Source: This book was given to me by the author in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis : MYTH IS NOT OVER.         It survives in the choices we repeat, the losses we carry, and the questions that return when certainty gives way.         What if the figures of myth were not distant symbols, but lives we could approach more closely—lives shaped by love and loyalty, power and error, grief and change?         The Intimate Afterlife of Myth revisits ten Greek and Mesopotamian myths, from Persephone and Gilgamesh to Inanna, Psyche, Hector, and Prometheus. Rather than reducing them to simple lessons or fixed interpretations, the book stays with the psychologi...