History from a Woman's Perspective- A Book Blog

  The Vice President’s Black Wife: The Untold Life of Julia Chinn Author: Amrita Chakrabarti Myers Genre: Nonfiction, History, Biography  Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press Release Date: 2023 Pages: 427 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: Award-winning historian Amrita Chakrabarti Myers has recovered the riveting, troubling, and complicated story of Julia Ann Chinn (ca. 1796–1833), the enslaved mixed-race wife of Richard Mentor Johnson, owner of Blue Spring Farm, veteran of the War of 1812, and US vice president under Martin Van Buren. Johnson never freed Chinn, but during his frequent absences from his estate, he delegated to her the management of his property, including Choctaw Academy, a boarding school for Indigenous men and boys. This meant that Chinn had substantial control over economic, social, financial, and personal affairs within the couple’s world, including overseeing Blue Spring’s enslaved labor force. Chinn’s r...

In Her Own Right: A Novel of Lady Mary Tudor Author: Amanda Schiavo Genre: Historical Fiction  Publisher: Black Rose Writing  Publication Date: 2023 Pages: 252 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review  Synopsis: Born into a world of privilege and power, Mary Tudor expected to live the life of every other European Princess during the Renaissance.       She knew it was her duty to marry well, and provide sons and heirs to her future husband, while remaining in the political shadows of a world dominated by ruthless men.       Her father's desperate need for a male heir and his willingness to send everybody who got in his way to their deaths, meant that Mary had very little hope of obtaining the English Crown. But a series of traumatic events nobody could see coming would propel Mary on a life-long journey to claim what so many believe to be rightfully hers: The Throne of England.   ...

The First Elizabeth  Author: Carolly Erickson  Genre: Nonfiction, History, Biography  Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin Release Date: 2024 Pages: 680 Source: Personal Collection  Synopsis: In this remarkable biography, Carolly Erickson brings Elizabeth I to life and allows us to see her as a living, breathing, elegant, flirtatious, diplomatic, violent, arrogant, and outrageous woman who commands our attention, fascination, and awe.        With her acclaimed writing skill, Carolly Erickson electrifies the senses as she evokes with total fidelity the brilliant colors of Elizabethan clothing and jewelry, the texture of tapestries, and even the close, perfumed air of castle rooms. Erickson demonstrates her extraordinary ability to discern and bring to life psychological and physical reality of England's Golden Age.        My Review: Queen Elizabeth I is considered one of England’s greatest monarchs. She is best k...

Matilda II: The Forgotten Queen  Author: Joanna Arman Genre: Nonfiction, History, Biography  Publisher: Pen and Sword History Release Date: 2025 Pages: 177 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: The wife of King Henry I and the mother of the Empress Maud is a woman and a Queen forgotten to history. She is frequently conflated with her daughter or her mother-in-law. She was born the daughter of the King of Scotland and an Anglo-Saxon princess. Her name was Edith, but her name was changed to Matilda at the time of her marriage. The Queen who united the line of William the Conqueror with the House of Wessex lived during an age marked by transition and turbulence. She married Henry in the first year of the 12th century and for the eighteen years of her rule aided him in reforming the administrative and legal system due to her knowledge of languages and legal tradition. Together she and her husband founded a series of churches and arranged a marri...

A Nurse’s Tale Author: Ola Awonubi Genre: Historical Fiction, Contemporary, Romance  Publisher: One More Chapter  Publication Date: 2023 Pages: 385 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review  Synopsis: Born Nigerian royalty, Princess Adenrele Ademola trained as a nurse at Guy’s Hospital in London and stepped up to serve the people of Britain when war broke out – facing both the devastation of the Blitz and the prejudice of some of the people she was trying to help.    80 years later, Ade’s great-niece Yemi arrives in London clutching the Princess’s precious diaries and longs to uncover the mysteries they hold…      A richly-detailed, compelling historical novel shining a light on a hidden voice of WW2 and one woman’s courageous contribution to Britain.        My Review: Princess Adenrele Ademola was a Princess of Egbaland and a nurse during WWII. A Nurse’s Tale chronicles Princess Adenrele...

The Other Princess: A Novel of Queen Victoria’s Goddaughter  Author: Denny S. Bryce Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: William Morrow Paperback Release Date: 2023 Pages: 443 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: A stunning portrait of an African princess raised in Queen Victoria’s court and adapting to life in Victorian England—based on the real-life story of a recently rediscovered historical figure, Sarah Forbes Bonetta.      With a brilliant mind and a fierce will to survive, Sarah Forbes Bonetta, a kidnapped African princess, is rescued from enslavement at seven years old and presented to Queen Victoria as a “gift.” To the Queen, the girl is an exotic trophy to be trotted out for the entertainment of the royal court and to showcase Victoria’s magnanimity. Sarah charms most of the people she meets, even those who would cast her aside. Her keen intelligence and her aptitude for languages and musical composition helps ...

Jane Seymour: An Illustrated Life Author: Carol-Ann Johnston  Genre: Nonfiction, History, Biography Publisher: Pen and Sword History  Release Date: 2025 Pages: 186 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: Biography of the third wife of King Henry VIII of England, and the mother of Edward VI who was Henry's only son. Jane Seymour is the wife of Henry VIII we know the least about, often written off as 'Plain Jane'. Queen of England for just seventeen months, during her life Jane witnessed some of the most extraordinary events ever to take place in English history, later becoming a part of them. Jane ensured her place in Henry's affections by giving him his much longed-for male heir only to tragically lose her life twelve days later leaving behind a motherless son and a devastated husband. For the remainder of his life Henry would honor the mother of his only legitimate son and would come to regard Jane as his 'true and loving wife'...