History from a Woman's Perspective- A Book Blog

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...

Eleanor of Castile: Queen and Society in Thirteenth Century England Author: John Carmi Parsons  Genre: Nonfiction, History, Biography  Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan  Book Release Date: 1998 Pages: 388 Source: Personal Collection  Synopsis: Medievalist feminist studies' early concentration on the lives of prominent women has more recently given way to an interest in their less exalted sisters. Historians have seemingly avoided the careers of medieval queens, creatures of romance and legend, women who enjoyed rank and wealth merely as a consequence of birth or marriage. A renewed interest in such women has, however, followed the opening of new avenues to the study of women and power in the Middle Ages. That the lives of these women will reward reconsideration has been amply proven in the works of such historians as Pauline Stafford and Janet Nelson. Eleanor of Castile studies the wife of Edward I of England, a woman eulogized since the sixteenth century as a model of ...

  Isis of Egypt: Goddess of Thrones Author: Malayna Evans Genre: Historical Fiction, Fantasy  Publisher: Alcove Press  Publication Date: June 23, 2026 Pages: 325 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: One determined goddess. Two beloved gods. Three coveted thrones.         Ancient Egypt’s most formidable goddess will stop at nothing to save her true love from the wrath of a vengeful god in this romantic retelling by the author of Neferura , perfect for readers who loved Lilith .       Isis, goddess of thrones and magic, steals the crown of Egypt and hands the power to her husband, Osiris. Together, Isis and Osiris live an idyllic life, ruling justly until the god of chaos, set on revenge for a crime Isis knows nothing about, traps Osiris in a box—a box that quickly vanishes.        Driven by rage and desperation, Isis spends decades di...

Anne Neville: Queen and Wife to Richard III  Author: Rebecca Batley Genre: Nonfiction, History, Biography  Publisher: Pen & Sword History  Book Release Date: 2024 Pages: 256 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: Anne Neville, often seen as a victim depicted by Shakespeare, was a powerful and influential figure in medieval England. Daughter, Wife, Princess, Widow and Queen: Anne Neville had many faces. Shakespeare presents her to us as a woman consumed with rage, bitterness and grief. He has her cursing the killer of her husband and father, before marrying him and condemning herself to despair. She rages, screams and weeps but ultimately she is shown as nothing more than a passive victim of the men who used and exploited her. This could not be further from the truth. Born into one of the most powerful dynasties in medieval England, Anne knew her worth, and her power. She was a great survivor escaping the tide of blood that consumed Eng...

The Serpent’s Longing: The Naga Princess and the Himalayan Yogi Author: Namita Kumari Genre: Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Romance Publisher: Namita Kumari Book Release Date: May 29, 2026 Pages: 216 Source: This book was given to me by the author in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: She has worn a thousand shapes and never wanted to keep a single one.         Soma is a Naga princess — a shapeshifter of the deep waters, ageless and unknowable, meant to be alone forever. Kaundinya is a yogi from the far mountains of India, who gave away everything he owned and crossed a sea with nothing but a dream of her. When he lands on her shore at the edge of the ancient world, neither of them is built to survive the one thing they find in each other: being truly known, and not wanting to be anywhere else.         For eleven stolen days, in the warm green dark, they are simply, secretly happy — talking late, laughin...

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 ...

The Queen’s Hand: Power and Authority in the Reign of Berenguela of Castile  Author: Janna Bianchini Genre: Nonfiction, History, Biography  Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press Book Release Date: 2012 Pages: 363 Source: Personal Collection  Synopsis: Her name is undoubtedly less familiar than that of her grandmother, Eleanor of Aquitaine, or that of her famous conqueror son, Fernando III, yet during her lifetime, Berenguela of Castile (1180-1246) was one of the most powerful women in Europe. As queen-consort of Alfonso IX of León, she acquired the troubled boundary lands between the kingdoms of Castile and León and forged alliances with powerful nobles on both sides. Even after her marriage was dissolved, she continued to strengthen these connections as a member of her father's court. On her brother's death, she inherited the Castilian throne outright—and then, remarkably, elevated her son to kingship at the same time. Using her assiduously cultivated alliances, B...

In Darkness Born (The Breaking Wheel: The Story of Katherine Parr #1) Author: G. Lawrence Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: G. Lawrence Book Release Date: April 19, 2026 Pages: 345 Source: Borrowed Synopsis: The world would make her a survivor... Destiny would make her a Queen.        England, 1525.       Born into a time of religious upheaval and political turmoil, Katherine Parr grows up in a loving family. Sheltered yet never kept ignorant of the dangers which surround her, Katherine secretly dreams of a life at court and a love such as the King possesses for the magnetic Anne Boleyn.       Sent north to become a bride at the age of sixteen, Katherine enters a household alien to the one she grew up in, where the overbearing personality of her new father-in-law holds sway, terrifying others into submission. Yet Katherine refuses to be intimidated and a curious friendship is born, exposin...

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.      ...