History from a Woman's Perspective- A Book Blog

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 Last Crown (The Bold #2) Author: Elżbieta Cherezińska Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: Forge Books Release Date: 2022 Pages: 544 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: Across Baltic shores, English battlegrounds, and the land of Northern Lights, The Last Crown is the follow up to The Widow Queen , and the epic conclusion of Swietoslawa's journey from Polish princess to Queen of Denmark & Sweden and Queen Mother of England.      The web of love and lies is thicker than ever as we reunite with players spread across the board of Europe in this sequel to The Widow Queen . Our heroes and enemies alike are beholden to the hands of fate.      While Olav Tryggvason reclaims the throne of Norway and baptizes the land by blood, King Sven in Denmark is filled with rage at his once comrade. Not only does Olav threaten Sven’s hold on Norway, but his hold on his own wife -- the woman with two crowns, thre...

The Widow Queen (The Bold #1) Author: Elżbieta Cherezińska Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: Forge Books Release Date: 2021 Pages: 504 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis : Elzbieta Cherezinska's The Widow Queen is the epic story of a Polish queen whose life and name were all but forgotten until now.      The bold one, they call her—too bold for most.      To her father, the great duke of Poland, Swietoslawa and her two sisters represent three chances for an alliance. Three marriages on which to build his empire.      But Swietoslawa refuses to be simply a pawn in her father's schemes; she seeks a throne of her own, with no husband by her side.      The gods may grant her wish, but crowns sit heavy, and power is a sword that cuts both ways.      My Review: Swietoslawa is a member of the Piast dynasty. She dreams to be a female rul...

The Romanov Empress by C.W. Gortner Publication Date: July 10, 2018 Ballantine Books Hardcover; 448 pages Genre: Historical Fiction Source: This book was given to me by Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours in exchange for an honest review.   Synopsis: Even from behind the throne, a woman can rule.      Narrated by the mother of Russia’s last tsar, this vivid, historically authentic novel brings to life the courageous story of Maria Feodorovna, one of Imperial Russia’s most compelling women, who witnessed the splendor and tragic downfall of the Romanovs as she fought to save her dynasty in the final years of its long reign.      Barely nineteen, Minnie knows that her station in life as a Danish princess is to leave her family and enter into a royal marriage—as her older sister Alix has done, moving to England to wed Queen Victoria’s eldest son. The winds of fortune bring Minnie to Russia, where she marries the ...

Little Mother of Russia: A Biography of Empress Marie Feodorovna (1847-1928) Author: Coryne Hall Genre: Nonfiction, History, Biography Publisher: Holmes and Meier Release Date: 2006 Pages: 416 Source: My State Public Library Synopsis: Princess Dagmar, daughter of King Christian IX of Denmark and sister Queen Alexandra of England and King George I of Greece, was betrothed to Tsarevitch Nicholas of Russia, a love match on both sides. Tragically, he died just months before their wedding. Out of duty she married his brother in 1866, and so fifteen years later this poor, obscure princess was raised to the heights of the Russian imperial throne when her husband became Alexander III, after the assassination of his father. Her son was Nicholas II, the last Tsar.      More tragedy was in store. Her husband died in his prime and two of her sons died young. During the First World War, her advice unheeded, the Tsar took command of the army and she could only w...

Grendel’s Mother Author: Diana Stout Genre: Historical Fiction, Fantasy Publisher: Sharpened Pencils Productions Release Date: March 16, 2016 Pages: 113 Source:  This book was given to me by the author in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: A 15-year-old girl dreams of freedom, with a desire to marry the young man she loves. A horrific event changes her life forever. Pregnant and having brought shame to her family and community, she is sacrificed to the dragon to die, but instead, the dragon saves her unbeknownst to her family and the community.       This literary novel reveals a journey of societal injustice, a girl's love for Nature that enables her to survive life in the wild alone, of her giving birth and raising a baby—deemed a monster—entirely on her own.       In the end, not only does she battle Grendel to keep him safe, but she battles her son’s killer, Beowulf, as well.        My Review: Gren...

Grendel's Mother: The Saga of the Wyrd-Wife by Susan Signe Morrison Publication Date: September 25, 2015 Top Hat Books Paperback & eBook; 238 Pages ISBN-10: 1785350099         Source: This book was given to me by Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours in exchange for an honest review.  Shortlisted for the 2014-2015 Sarton Literary Award for Historical Fiction .  Synopsis:  An amber bead. A gold and glass drinking horn. A ring engraved with Thor’s hammer – all artifacts from a Germanic tribe that carved a space for itself through brutality and violence on a windswept land. Brimhild weaves peace and conveys culture to the kingdom, until the secret of her birth threatens to tear apart the fragile political stability. This is her story – the tale of Grendel’s Mother. She is no monster as portrayed in the Old English epic, Beowulf. We learn her side of the story and that of her defamed child. We see the many passages of her life: the brin...