History from a Woman's Perspective- A Book Blog

White House Wild Child: How Alice Roosevelt Broke All the Rules and Won the Heart of America  Author: Shelley Fraser Mickle Genre: History, Nonfiction, Biography  Publisher: Imagine Release Date: 2023 Pages: 256 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: The fascinating historical biography of America’s most memorable first daughter, Alice Roosevelt, whose free spirit and status made her the Princess Diana and Jackie O of the early 20th century.       During Theodore Roosevelt’s presidency—from 1901 to 1909, when Mark Twain called him the most popular man in America—his daughter Alice Roosevelt mesmerized the world with her antics and beauty.      Alice was known for carrying a gun, a copy of the Constitution, and a green snake in her purse. When her father told her she couldn’t smoke under his roof, she climbed to the top of the White House and smoked on the roof. She became the most famous w...

Queen of Exiles Author: Vanessa Riley Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: William Morrow Release Date: 2023 Pages: 447 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: Acclaimed historical novelist Vanessa Riley is back with another novel based on the life of an extraordinary Black woman from history: Haiti’s Queen Marie-Louise Christophe, who escaped a coup in Haiti to set up her own royal court in Italy during the Regency era, where she became a popular member of royal European society.       The Queen of Exiles is Marie-Louise Christophe, wife and then widow of Henry I, who ruled over the newly liberated Kingdom of Hayti in the wake of the brutal Haitian Revolution.      In 1810 Louise is crowned queen as her husband begins his reign over the first and only free Black nation in the Western Hemisphere. But despite their newfound freedom, Haitians still struggle under mountains of debt to France and indiffe...

A Right Worthy Woman Author: Ruth P. Watson Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: Atria Books Release Date: 2023 Pages: 303 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: In the vein of The Personal Librarian and The House of Eve , a “remarkable and stirring novel” (Patti Callahan Henry, New York Times bestselling author) based on the inspiring true story of Virginia’s Black Wall Street and the indomitable Maggie Lena Walker, the daughter of a formerly enslaved woman who became the first Black woman to establish and preside over a bank in the United States.       Maggie Lena Walker was ambitious and unafraid. Her childhood in 19th-century Virginia helping her mother with her laundry service opened her eyes to the overwhelming discrepancy between the Black residents and her mother’s affluent white clients. She vowed to not only secure the same kind of home and finery for herself, but she would also help others in her community achi...

Nell: Marshal of Bodie (The Nell Doherty Mysteries #1) Author: John Edward Mullen Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery & Suspense, Western  Publisher: Murders in Time Press Release Date: 2022 Pages: 300 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: In the winter of 1892, the once-vibrant gold-mining town of Bodie, California is in serious decline.        Nell Doherty, an 18-year-old young woman with a wooden leg, dreams of leaving and becoming a Pinkerton detective.       When a tragic shooting presents her with an opportunity to prove she has the skills needed to work for the Pinkertons, Bodie’s justice of the peace deputizes Nell — over the loud objections of the majority of the town’s residents.      Can she prove them all wrong?       Nell digs in and investigates the shooting, with the help of Rags, her half-Irish, half-Chinese be...

Her Lost Words: A Novel of Mary Wollstonecraft and Mary Shelley Author: Stephanie Marie Thornton Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: Berkley Release Date: 2023 Pages: 446 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: From A Vindication of the Rights of Woman to Frankenstein , a tale of two literary legends—a mother and daughter—discovering each other and finding themselves along the way, from USA Today bestselling author Stephanie Marie Thornton.         1792. As a child, Mary Wollstonecraft longed to disappear during her father’s violent rages. Instead, she transforms herself into the radical author of the landmark volume A Vindication of the Rights of Woman , in which she dares to propose that women are equal to men. From conservative England to the blood-drenched streets of revolutionary France, Mary refuses to bow to society’s conventions and instead supports herself with her pen until an illicit love affair challenges...

The Woman at the Wheel Author: Penny Haw Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark Release Date: 2023 Pages: 312 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: Inspiring historical fiction based on the real life of Bertha Benz, whose husband built the first prototype automobile, which eventually evolved into the Mercedes-Benz marque.      "Unfortunately, only a girl again."       From a young age, Cäcilie Bertha Ringer is fascinated by her father's work as a master builder in Pforzheim, Germany. But those five words, which he wrote next to her name in the family Bible, haunt Bertha.      Years later, Bertha meets Carl Benz and falls in love—with him and his extraordinary dream of building a horseless carriage. Bertha has such faith in him that she invests her dowry in his plans, a dicey move since they alone believe in the machine. When Carl's partners threaten to wit...

After Anne: A Novel of Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Life  Author: Logan Steiner Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: William Morris Paperbacks Release Date: 2023 Pages: 362 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: A stunning and unexpected portrait of Lucy Maud Montgomery, creator of one of literature’s most prized heroines, whose personal demons were at odds with her most enduring legacy—the irrepressible Anne of Green Gables . “ Dear old world,” she murmured, “you are very lovely, and I am glad to be alive in you. ” —L. M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables , 1908.      As a young woman, Maud had dreams bigger than the whole of Prince Edward Island. Her exuberant spirit had always drawn frowns from her grandmother and their neighbors, but she knew she was meant to create, to capture and share the way she saw the world. And the young girl in Maud’s mind became more and more persistent: Here is my story, she said. Here is how my name...