History from a Woman's Perspective- A Book Blog

  Cleopatra’s Daughter: From Roman Prisoner to African Queen Author: Jane Draycott Genre: Nonfiction, History, Biography Publisher: Liveright Release Date: 2023 Pages: 336 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: The first modern biography of one of the most influential yet long-neglected rulers of the ancient world: Cleopatra Selene, daughter of Antony and Cleopatra.      As the only daughter of Roman Triumvir Marc Antony and Egyptian Queen Cleopatra VII, Cleopatra Selene was expected to uphold traditional feminine virtues; to marry well and bear sons; and to legitimize and strengthen her parents’ rule. Yet with their parents’ deaths by suicide, the princess and her brothers found themselves the inheritors of Egypt, a claim that placed them squarely in the warpath of the Roman emperor.      “Supported by a feast of visual and literary references” (Caroline Lawrence), Cleopatra’s Daughter reimagines t...

Return to Avalon Author: Jennifer Roberson (Editor) Genre: Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Anthology Publisher: DAW Publication Date: 1996 Pages: 400 Source: Personal collection  Synopsis: Retellings of several Arthurian tales follow such plots as Merlin's defeat of Vortigern and Guinevere's sacrifice to a grail-seeking knight, and include the works of such writers as Melanie Rawn, Judith Tarr, and Katherine Kerr.         My Review: Marion Zimmer Bradley is renowned for her classic novel, The Mists of Avalon . Return to Avalon is an anthology that pays homage to Marion Zimmer Bradley by having twenty original tales. Most of these tales are told from a female perspective set in medieval time periods. Some of the tales are retellings of famous Arthurian legends. Some of the authors include Diana L. Paxson, Kate Elliot, Katherine Kerr, Laura Resnick, Jennifer Roberson, and many more.      I was intrigued by this anthology becau...

Cloak of Scarlet (A Dericott Tale #5) Author: Melanie Dickerson Genre: YA, Christian, Historical Fiction, Romance Publisher: Thomas Nelson Release Date: 2023 Pages: 334 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: She was an orphan of no importance . . .      He was an ordinary knight serving the baron . . .       Suddenly the kingdom depends on both of them.        Violet Lambton never imagined herself as anything but average. Adopted as a young child, she’s content with her comfortable life in her small medieval town with her faith, her books, and her baking . . . and the vivid red cloak her grandmother gifted her. Her one dream: to find a love that is pure and true. Then, her beloved grandmother is robbed by the villainous Baron Dunham. Outraged, Violet finds herself in the midst of the action and determines to put an end to the evil baron’s mis­treatment of the hardw...

The Woman at the Wheel Author: Penny Haw Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark Release Date: 2023 Pages: 312 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: Inspiring historical fiction based on the real life of Bertha Benz, whose husband built the first prototype automobile, which eventually evolved into the Mercedes-Benz marque.      "Unfortunately, only a girl again."       From a young age, Cäcilie Bertha Ringer is fascinated by her father's work as a master builder in Pforzheim, Germany. But those five words, which he wrote next to her name in the family Bible, haunt Bertha.      Years later, Bertha meets Carl Benz and falls in love—with him and his extraordinary dream of building a horseless carriage. Bertha has such faith in him that she invests her dowry in his plans, a dicey move since they alone believe in the machine. When Carl's partners threaten to wit...

The Grand Sophy (Regency Romances # 10) Author: Georgette Heyer Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca Publication Date: 2009 Pages: 360 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: A reader favorite from the Queen of Regency Romance, The Grand Sophy is an utterly hilarious and completely endearing story of a charming young heroine and the outrageous lengths she goes to solve everyone else's problems, and the surprises in store for everyone!        When Sir Horace Stanton-Lacy is ordered to South America on diplomatic business, he parks his only daughter, Sophy, with his sister in Berkeley Square. Forward, bold, and out-spoken, Sophy sweeps in and immediately takes the ton by storm.         Upon her arrival, Sophy can see that her cousins are in a sad tangle: Ceclia is in love with a poet, Charles is engaged to a dour bluestocking, her uncle is of no use at all...

Arabella (Regency Romances #9) Author: Georgette Heyer Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca  Release Date: 2009 Pages: 322 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: If you love Bridgerton , you'll love Georgette Heyer.        A fiery debutante. An ill-tempered bachelor. A romance for the ages. Arabella, the daughter of an impoverished country parson, dreams of a new life in London. But her beauty and charm will only get her so far—and when Arabella embarks on her first London season armed with nothing but a benevolent godmother and her own notoriously short temper, she quickly runs afoul of Robert Beaumaris.      He's the most eligible bachelor of the day, with a personality as strong and combative as hers—and Arabella cannot abide him thinking of her as just another pretty girl after his wealth. So she allows herself to be provoked into a game of deception—one...

The Last Masterpiece: A Novel of World War II Italy Author: Laura Morelli Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: William Morrow Publishing  Release Date: 2023 Pages: 404 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: In a race across Nazi-occupied Italy, two women—a German photographer and an American stenographer—hunt for priceless masterpieces looted from the Florentine art collections.       In the summer of 1943, Eva Brunner is taking photographs of Nazi-looted art hidden in the salt mines of the Austrian hinterland. Across the ocean in Connecticut, Josephine Evans is working as a humble typist at the Yale Art Gallery. When both women are called to Italy to contribute to the war effort, neither imagines she will hold the fate of some of the world’s greatest masterpieces torn from the Uffizi Galleries and other Florentine art collections in her hands. But as Italy turns from ally to enemy and Hitler’s plan to destroy irreplace...

The Secret Detective Agency (Secret Detective Agency Mystery #1) Author: Helena Dixon Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery & Suspense Publisher: Bookouture Release Date: March 27, 2025 Pages: 264 Source: This book was given to me by the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis:  Meet Miss Jane Treen – the coffee-drinking cat lover dressed head to toe in tweed, who just happens to be a secret super sleuth!       London, 1941: Miss Jane Treen is at her desk, strong black coffee in hand and fluffy ginger cat by her side, when her top-secret government work is interrupted by an urgent call to  Devon . A woman has been found dead in a lake in a place where she shouldn’t have been. Jane needs to gather the clues and find the killer before someone else from the agency gets hurt…       Shy and handsome code-breaker  Arthur Cilento  is bewildered by the arrival of the efficient  Miss Treen and h...