History from a Woman's Perspective- A Book Blog

Enheduana: The Complete Poems of the World’s First Author Author: Sophus Helle Genre: History, Nonfiction, Biography, Religion Publisher: Yale University Press Release Date: 2024 Pages: 228 Source: Personal Collection  Synopsis: The complete poems of the priestess Enheduana, the world’s first known author, newly translated from the original Sumerian.      Enheduana was a high priestess and royal princess who lived in Ur, in what is now southern Iraq, about 2300 BCE. Not only does Enheduana have the distinction of being the first author whose name we know, but the poems attributed to her are hymns of great power. They are a rare flash of the female voice in the often male-dominated ancient world, treating themes that are as relevant today as they were four thousand years ago: exile, social disruption, the power of storytelling, gender-bending identities, the devastation of war, and the terrifying forces of nature.       This book is ...

Inanna, Queen of Heaven and Earth: Her Stories and Hymns from Sumer Author: Samuel Noah Kramer and Diane Wolkstein Genre: Nonfiction, History, Biography, Religion, Mythology Publisher: Harper Perennial Release Date: 1983 Pages: 256 Source: Personal Collection Synopsis: With the long-awaited publication of this book, we have for the first time in any modern literary form one of the most vital and important of ancient myths—that of Inanna, the world’s first goddess of recorded history and the beloved deity of the ancient Sumerians.      The stories and hymns of Inanna (known to the Semites as Ishtar) are inscribed on clay tablets which date back to 2,000 B.C. Over the past forty years, these cuneiform tablets have gradually been restored and deciphered by a small group of international scholars. In this groundbreaking book, Samuel Noah Kramer, the preeminent living expert on Sumer, and Diane Wolkstein, a gifted storyteller and folklorist, have retranslated, order...

Bride of the Buddha Author: Barbara McHugh, Ph.D. Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: Monkfish Book Publishing Release Date: 2021 Pages: 294 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: This is the story of Yasodhara, the abandoned wife of the Buddha. Facing society’s challenges, she transforms her rage into devotion to the path of liberation. The page-turner about a woman’s struggle in an unapologetic religious patriarchy, Bride of the Buddha offers a penetrating perspective on the milieu of the Buddha.       My Review: Bride of the Budddha tells the story of Buddha’s abandoned wife. Yashodhara marries Prince Siddhartha. He abandons her and their son to search for enlightenment. Wanting to find her own quest for enlightenment, Yashodhara disguises herself as a man and joins her husband’s monastery. She becomes his disciple known as Ananda and is his closest confidant. Ananda persuaded him to allow women into the order to help spread...

Marie Antoinette, Daughter of the Caesars: Her Life, Her Times, Her Legacy Author: Elena Maria Vidal Genre: Nonfiction, History, Biography Publisher: Mayapple Books Release Date: 2016 Pages: 566 Source: Kindle Unlimited Synopsis: Marie-Antoinette, Daughter of the Caesars is about the life, death and legacy of Louis XVI's tragic Queen, based upon the author's thirty years of research. Whenever possible the historical persons speak for themselves out of memoirs and letters. Marie-Antoinette is seen in light of her Imperial heritage as a child of the Habsburg dynasty. Having assumed the crown of the Holy Roman Empire in the 1400’s, the crown which had originated with Charlemagne in the year 800, they were seen as the continuation of the Roman Empire of the West. The Habsburgs and their allies kept the Muslims from overrunning Europe at both the Battle of Lepanto in 1571 and at the battle of Vienna in 1683. The fall of Marie-Antoinette, as both Queen of France and the younge...

Setting the World on Fire: The Brief, Astonishing Life of St. Catherine of Siena Author: Shelley Emling Genre: Nonfiction, History, Biography, Religion Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin Release Date: April 5, 2016 Pages: 256 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: One of only two patron saints of Italy, the other being St. Francis of Assisi, St. Catherine was ahead of her time. As a political powerhouse in late 14th century Europe, a time of war, social unrest and one of the worst natural disasters of all time--the plague, she worked for peace between Christians while campaigning for a holy crusade against Muslims. She was illiterate but grew into a great writer by dictating to assistants. She was frail and punished herself mercilessly, often starving herself, while offering moral guidance and inspiration to kings, queens and popes.      It's easy to see why feminists through the years have sought to claim the patronage of St. Cather...

Emperor Wu Zhao and Her Pantheon of Devis, Divinities, and Dynastic Mothers Author: N. Harry Rothschild Genre: History, Nonfiction, Religion Publisher: Columbia University Press Release Date: June 2015 Pages: 384 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: Wu Zhao (624--705), better known as Wu Zetian or Empress Wu, is the only woman to have ruled China over the course of its 5,000-year history. How did she rise to power, and why was she never overthrown? Exploring a mystery that has confounded scholars for centuries, this multifaceted history suggests that Wu Zhao drew on China's rich pantheon of female divinities and eminent women to aid in her reign.      Wu Zhao could not obtain political authority through conventional channels, but she could afford to ignore norms and tradition. Deploying language, symbol, and ideology, she harnessed the cultural resonance, maternal force, divine energy, and historical weight of Buddhist devis, Co...

Enchantress by Maggie Anton Publication Date: September 2, 2014 Plume Formats: eBook, Paperback Pages: 400 Series: Rav Hisda's Daughter Genre: Historical Fiction/Historical Fantasy Source: This book was given to me by Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours in exchange for an honest review.      Fantastic tales of demons and the Evil Eye, magical incantations, and powerful attractions abound in Enchantress, a novel that weaves together Talmudic lore, ancient Jewish magic, and a timeless love story set in fourth-century Babylonia.      One of the most powerful practitioners of these mysterious arts is Rav Hisda's daughter, whose innate awareness allows her to possess the skills men lack. With her husband, Rava--whose arcane knowledge of the secret Torah enables him to create a "man"out of earth and to resurrect another rabbi from death--the two brave an evil sorceress, Ashmedai the Demon King, and even the Angel of Death in their quest to safe...

Consolamentum (Book #3 of The Tiger and The Dove Trilogy) Author: Rebecca Hazell Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: CreateSpace Release Date: 2014 Pages: 355 Source: This book was given to me as part of a book tour in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: In the finale of Sofia's memoir, Consolamentum , both dramatic and poignant, her dreams of home are shattered when her own family betrays her. Raising her child on her own, mourning the loss of her beloved knight, and building a trading empire, she seeks safe haven for her child and herself. Her quest takes her from Antioch to Constantinople to Venice. A surprise reunion in Venice leads her to France where she runs afoul of the newly established Holy Inquisition, possibly the greatest challenge she has yet faced. Can a woman so marked by oppression, betrayal, and danger ever find her safe haven, much less genuine happiness?      My Review: Consolamentum is the final novel in The Tiger and The Dove  ...

Solomon's Bride (Book Two of The Tiger and The Dove Trilogy) Author: Rebecca Hazell Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform Release Date: 2014 Pages: 384 Source: This book was given to me as part of a blog tour in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: Once a princess of Rus’, now a fugitive from the Mongols with a price on her head, Sofia flees to Iran and what she thinks will be safety. Instead, she becomes a virtual prisoner in Alamut, capital of the feared, secretive sect called the Assassins. There she must answer to the Grand Master himself. In this gripping second journal of her adventures, she is confronted with a world that further challenges everything she thought she knew. And she like Solomon’s youngest bride, if she escapes, can she face a lonely death in the desert or might she finally find love?       My Review: This is a sequel to  The Grip of God . Sofia manages to escape from the Mongol war camp. ...

The Grip of God (Book One of The Tiger and The Dove Trilogy) Author: Rebecca Hazell Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform Release Date: 2013 Pages: 380 Source: This book was given to me as part of a blog tour in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: Sofia, a young princess of Kievan Rus’, is captured in battle and swept away to a Mongol war camp as a slave concubine. Can she survive in a world of total war while the bitter rivalries in her new master’s family threaten her from all sides? In this dramatic first journal of her saga, Sofia seeks her way through an alien and savage culture where a new world of ideas challenges her entire view of life. While her only goal is to escape and to find love again, what will she discover if she can break free .       My Review: Sofia is a young princess of Kyiv. When her kingdom is threatened of being attacked, her father devises a plan for Sofia to escape the palace unharmed. W...

Jezebel: The Untold Story of the Bible's Harlot Queen Author: Hazelton, Lesley Genre: Nonfiction, Biography, History, Religion Release Date: 2007 Pages: 272 Publisher: Doubleday Source: Personal Collection Synopsis:  There is no woman with a worse reputation than Jezebel, the ancient qeen who corrupted a nation and met one of the most gruesome fates in the Bible. But what if this version of her story is merely one her enemies wanted us to believe? What if Jezebel, far from being a conniving harlot was, in fact, framed?      In this remarkable biography, Lesley Hazelton shows exactly how the proud and courageous queen of Israel was vilified and made into the very embodiment of wanton wickedness by her political and religious enemies. The epic and ultimately tragic confrontation between sophisticated mentalism, and is, without exaggeration, the original story of the unholy marriage of sex, politics, and religion.       ...