History from a Woman's Perspective- A Book Blog

The Hidden Diary of Marie Antoinette Author: Carolly Erickson Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: Griffin Release Date: 2006 Pages: 368 Source: My personal collection Synopsis: Imagine that, on the night before she is to die under the blade of the guillotine, Marie Antoinette leaves behind in her prison cell a diary telling the story of her life―from her privileged childhood as Austrian Archduchess to her years as glamorous mistress of Versailles to the heartbreak of imprisonment and humiliation during the French Revolution.      Carolly Erickson takes the reader deep into the psyche of France's doomed queen: her love affair with handsome Swedish diplomat Count Axel Fersen, who risked his life to save her; her fears on the terrifying night the Parisian mob broke into her palace bedroom intent on murdering her and her family; her harrowing attempted flight from France in disguise; her recapture and the grim months of harsh captivity; her agony when her beloved h...

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...

Love and Fury: A Novel of Mary Wollstonecraft Author: Samantha Silva Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: Allison and Busby Release Date: 2021 Pages: 290 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review Synopsis: 'Now, daughter, I'm to tell you a story to coax you into the world...'      London, 1797. Mary Wollstonecraft awaits the arrival of the midwife who will help bring her child into the world, and support her through the testing eleven days that follow.       After the birth, both mother and daughter fight for survival. Even as Mary's strength wanes, she urgently weaves the tale of her life to bind her frail Little Bird close.      Wollstonecraft's journey to vindicate the rights of women spanned Europe and broke the conventions of the time. Amid the triumph and loss, she blazed a trail and passed that legacy on to her child, the future Mary Shelley.       Love an...

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...

Th e Queen’s Fortune: A Novel of Desiree, Napoleon, and the Dynasty that Outlasted an Empire Author: Allison Pataki Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: Ballantine Books Release Date: 2020 Pages: 449 Source: Publisher/Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: As the French revolution ravages the country, Desiree Clary is faced with the life-altering truth that the world she has known and loved is gone and it’s fallen on her to save her family from the guillotine. A chance encounter with Napoleon Bonaparte, the ambitious and charismatic young military prodigy, provides her answer. When her beloved sister Julie marries his brother Joseph, Desiree and Napoleon’s futures become irrevocably linked. Quickly entering into their own passionate, dizzying courtship that leads to a secret engagement, they vow to meet in the capital once his career has been secured. But her newly laid plans with Napoleon turn to sudden heartbreak, thanks to the rising star of Parisian society, Jos...

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...

The Space In Between: A Story About Nina Author: Diane Eklund-Abolins Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: AoE Publishing Release Date: 2012 Pages: 392 Source: Personal Collection Synopsis: Between the beginning and the end, there is the space in between.      “...People had forgotten how to laugh; they did not even smile. When they had to go out, they always chose the shortest path, and they hurried along the streets , keeping their heads down. They did not talk, and they did not ask questions. They were all trying to disappear behind empty expressions. At home they learnt to keep the windows covered and the doors locked…”      War, revolution and war again. This is the background against which Nina grows up, fleeing her homeland, Latvia, on three separate occasions. With family members tragically caught up in one or other of the terrible conflicts, Nina is thrown between helplessness and a need for normality, or, at least, some kind of control....