History from a Woman's Perspective- A Book Blog

The Northwomen: Untold Stories from the Other Half of the Viking World Author: Heather Pringle Genre: Nonfiction, History, Biography  Publisher: National Geographic Digital Book Release Date: 2025 Pages: 389 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: For fans of provocative history and "Game of Thrones" alike, this revisionist narrative reveals how the little-known women of the Viking era shaped their world.       Until Scandinavia converted to Christianity and came under the rule of powerful kings, the Vikings were a dominant force in the medieval world. Outfitted with wind-powered sailing ships, they left their mark, spreading terror across Europe, sacking cities, deposing kings, and ransacking entire economies. After the Vikings, the world was never the same.       But as much as we know about this celebrated culture, there is a large missing piece: its women. All but ignored by contemporar...

Maria: A Novel of Maria von Trapp Author: Michelle Moran Genre: Historical Fiction  Publisher: Dell  Publication Date: 2024 Pages: 311 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: Maria von Trapp. You know the name and the iconic songs, but do you know her real story? This dramatic novel, based on the woman glamorized in The Sound of Music , brings Maria to life as never before.        In the 1950s, Oscar Hammerstein is asked to write the lyrics to a musical based on the life of a woman named Maria von Trapp. He’s intrigued to learn that she was once a novice who hoped to live quietly as an Austrian nun before her abbey sent her away to teach a widowed baron’s sickly child. What should have been a ten-month assignment, however, unexpectedly turned into a marriage proposal. And when the family was forced to flee their home to escape the Nazis, it was Maria who instructed them on how to survive using nothing but the p...

The Narrowness of Death: Book Four of the Story of Eleanor of Aquitaine (The Heirs of Anarchy #8) Author: G. Lawrence  Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: G. Lawrence  Book Release Date: 2025 Pages: 363 Source: Borrowed  Synopsis: 1189, England.         Imprisoned for many years by her husband Henry II, Eleanor of Aquitaine has been freed by her son, King Richard I. Diminished not at all by her years as a captive, Eleanor must take on new roles for her son as he leaves his empire behind and embarks upon crusade. Yet Eleanor will face not only trouble from other countries and kings but from within her own family, as she tries to defend and preserve Richard's empire, whilst her youngest son John plots to place himself upon his brother's throne.        The Narrowness of Death is Book Four of the Story of Eleanor of Aquitaine , part of The Heirs of Anarchy Series by G. Lawrence.      ...

Daughter of the Sun, Story of the Young Eleanor of Aquitaine (The Heirs of Anarchy #5) Author: G. Lawrence  Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: G. Lawrence  Book Release Date: 2023 Pages: 339 Source: Borrowed  Synopsis: Countess, Duchess, twice a Queen, ruler of vast lands, crusader, mother and politician, this is the story of the young Eleanor of Aquitaine.      Aquitaine, 1137      The young Eleanor of Aquitaine has inherited the lands of her father, at once becoming most powerful and most vulnerable. Promised without her knowledge to the heir to the King of France, Eleanor is about to enter a court unknown, and a world most violent. Through trials of marriage, politics and crusade to the Holy Lands, Eleanor will travel, rising above the limitations set upon her, to forge a path to a future where dreams of true power are more than mere illusion.        Daughter of the Sun, Story of the Youn...

Child of Water (The Heirs of Anarchy #1) Author: G. Lawrence  Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: G. Lawrence  Book Release Date: 2020 Pages: 446 Source: Personal Collection  Synopsis: Winter, 1110, England       On a beach, standing in the snow, a girl of eight winters waits for a ship that will take her from her homeland of England, from her family, to her husband. That girl is Matilda, daughter of Henry I, King of the English and Duke of Normandy. In time she would become Queen of the Germans and Romans, and Empress of the Holy Empire. From the dark forests and mighty castles of the German states of the Empire, to the Alps, northern Italy and Rome, Matilda will travel, at first the apprentice of power, learning from her husband, Heinrich, the Emperor. Through times of war and peace, loss and deepest sorrow, her story unfolds, leading her back to the place of her birth, and the promise of a throne.        Chil...

Women in the Valley of the Kings: The Untold Story of Women Egyptologists in the Gilded Age Author: Kathleen Sheppard Genre: Nonfiction, History, Biography Publisher: St. Martin’s Press Book Release Date: 2024 Pages: 310 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: The never-before-told story of the women Egyptologists who paved the way who paved the way for exploration in Egypt and laid the groundwork for Egyptology.      The history of Egyptology is often told as yet one more grand narrative of powerful men striving to seize the day and the precious artifacts for their competing homelands. But that is only half of the story. During the so-called Golden Age of Exploration, there were women working and exploring before Howard Carter discovered the tomb of King Tut. Before men even conceived of claiming the story for themselves, women were working in Egypt to lay the groundwork for all future exploration.      ...

The Assassin of Venice Author: Alyssa Palombo Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery & Suspense Publisher: Crooked Lane Books  Publication Date: 2024 Pages: 314 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review  Synopsis: A Renaissance courtesan must choose between love and duty in this high stakes 16th-century mystery, perfect for fans of Madeline Hunter and Rhys Bowen.        Valentina Riccardi is many things: beautiful, cultured, deadly. As one of Venice’s famous courtesans, she’s perfectly positioned to seduce powerful men, get them alone, and assassinate them. Spies. Traitors. Who they are doesn’t matter—only that they made an enemy of the Council of Ten, the shadowy and seemingly omniscient power from which Valentina takes her orders without question.        Venice is her home, and after losing everything once before to an invading army, there is nothing she won’t do to protect her city, for...

Finding Margaret Fuller Author: Allison Pataki  Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: Ballantine Books Book Release Date: 2024 Pages: 391 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: In the company of Ralph Waldo Emerson and his circle of enlightened friends, the young, beautiful, and brilliant Margaret Fuller becomes “the radiant genius and fiery heart” of the Transcendentalists. She inspires Louisa May Alcott, sparks Nathaniel Hawthorne to create Hester Prynne, and forms close bonds with Henry David Thoreau and Emerson himself. However, Margaret’s soul yearns for more than poetry and drama, leading her on a journey of adventure and self-discovery.        From hosting a women-only literary salon in Boston to becoming the first woman permitted entry to Harvard’s library, Margaret defies societal conventions as an activist for women’s rights and a champion for humanity. On the gritty New York streets, she spars with Edgar...