THE Warrior Queens

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She is also the author of two memoirs, Must You Go?

Fraser has assembled a remarkable group of women for our contemplation…. They have outmaneuvered, outtalked, outblustered, and in some cases outshot and outridden the cream of the crop…. Fraser is to be congratulated for rescuing them from their own myths and for giving them their due as individuals. Fraser at once clarifies history and suggests the many ways that myths betray history…. She holds our attention and she misses nothing. There is lots of fascinating detail on the sexual mythology that has surrounded most women rulers.

There is real insight into how women wield power…. There is a pleasure in having the stories of so many remarkable women gathered in one place. Raluca rated it it was ok Nov 27, Theresa rated it really liked it Jul 15, Philip rated it it was ok Sep 12, Janet rated it really liked it May 14, Kim rated it really liked it Jan 17, E rated it it was amazing Sep 11, Karen Kelland rated it really liked it Jan 01, Louise Douglas marked it as to-read Aug 07, Fiona added it Oct 23, Laurenjade marked it as to-read May 01, Skull marked it as to-read Jun 06, Flor marked it as to-read Jun 26, Leanne added it Jul 10, Elz Ward marked it as to-read Aug 27, Duncan added it May 14, Patrick added it Aug 11, Lyndsey marked it as to-read Sep 28, Liz added it Oct 17, Michaela Hembling marked it as to-read Aug 13, Philip marked it as to-read Nov 13, Jirinka sony08 marked it as to-read Jul 10, Michelle marked it as to-read Jun 13, Why wasn't that included in Boadicea's chapter?

The author also gets bits of history wrong - Isabella's family tree as she explains the succession. You can't forget a daughter and assign her son to a different daughter! This isn't The Tudors! It was absolutely frustrating to read about all the "syndromes" these women had while ignoring the rich detail or their lives.

Don't completely give up on Fraser - her biography on Marie Antoinette is excellent, and she probably should adapted that format for this book - sort histories of Warrior Queens and their achievements. This book probably really deserves a 2, but since I couldn't bring myself to finish it I had to rate it a 1. Jun 29, Carol Storm rated it it was ok.

She spends as much time on parades and pageantry in the 19th century, where "symbolic" warrior queens just bless the troops and appear in very becoming but only sort-of military poses, as she does on actual fighting women in the ancient world, like Boudica of England. It's also noticeable that with Boudica Lady Antonia plays down the bloody war and butchery and plays up the Roman era that came later.

She mentions several times that "other" Britannic warrior queens names not mentioned were more peacable, marrying Roman governors and building Roman-style villas with beautiful artwork and frescoes which still catch the eye today.

The Warrior Queens, Boadicea's Chariot by Antonia Fraser

Indeed, the image she gives of that time period is that most upper-class women willingly chose the comforts and luxuries of life as a Roman lady to the blood and grime of constant war. Warlike Boudica was probably the exception rather than the rule. In fact Lady Antonia quotes several Roman sources saying that the daughters of the fierce British tribes were quick to adapt Roman customs, bathing and finery -- so much so that they were often accused of being more Roman than their Roman husbands!

This book is okay overall, but instead of being a story of "warriors" it really describes women rulers who sometimes presented themselves in military roles. An account of all the warrior women who left their mark on history and why some were successful and others weren't. The warrior queens who earned their reputation as fearsome and holy were only because they evoked popular sentiment of unity and religion, and perpetuated the stereotype of the "weak and feeble woman" Elizabeth and feminine virtues of chastity, homeliness Golda Meyer, Louise of Prussia, Queen Tamara of Georgia,etc and religious fervor Isabel before she was married and after sh An account of all the warrior women who left their mark on history and why some were successful and others weren't.

The warrior queens who earned their reputation as fearsome and holy were only because they evoked popular sentiment of unity and religion, and perpetuated the stereotype of the "weak and feeble woman" Elizabeth and feminine virtues of chastity, homeliness Golda Meyer, Louise of Prussia, Queen Tamara of Georgia,etc and religious fervor Isabel before she was married and after she married, and a tool that she used against 'La Beltraneja' -her niece Juana whom she always held was not her brother's daughter.

In using rebelling against the norm while perpetuating the stereotype of the weak and virtuous female these monarchs and rulers managed to keep their positions and become celebrated icons to this day ; while those who refused to play by the rules were slandered, publicly and physically humiliated and some of them were forced to take their lives such as Boudicca, Cleopatra, etc or die in battle the Rani of Jhani.

It's an engrossing account that doesn't end with a simple everything is okay now but makes the points that many of these attitudes on women have changed very little and women leaders today still have to use certain stereotypes to be accepted. It was an okay book but I have to say the author's continous usage of "syndrome" did make one think that there was something wrong with the women!

Also a little too much of "warrior" women in the European world and not so much with other countries. I guess in the 80s her research was limited but even so there must have been other women known then like Nurjahan during the Mughual period of India and I can't believe there was only one queen to cite in Africa!

And I didn't have that much interest i It was an okay book but I have to say the author's continous usage of "syndrome" did make one think that there was something wrong with the women! And I didn't have that much interest in reading about Margaret Thatcher, none at all in fact! Nor was I that compelled for Indira Ghandi, I think I'll leave my own personal politics out of this, as it is a book review and not a political debate.

Mar 13, Sarah Finch rated it it was amazing. This is one of the most intelligent and thoughtful books I have read in a long while. The final chapter or two on Margaret Thatcher is particularly insightful.

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Along the way she discusses how sexuality, maternity, and religion have shaped the conversations surrounding these women for generations, as well as the Appendage Synd This is one of the most intelligent and thoughtful books I have read in a long while. Along the way she discusses how sexuality, maternity, and religion have shaped the conversations surrounding these women for generations, as well as the Appendage Syndrome wherein a female ruler can only validate her reign through her ties to a strong male.

This is a great read, and one not at all outdated by the twenty-some years that have passed since its publication in Link to my review of this book: Feb 19, Charli rated it it was ok Shelves: I barely got to the end of this book - which was surprising as I'm a great fan of Fraser's work ordinarily.

However, I found the structure of this book somewhat convoluted and confusing, and it didn't really give the insight I was expecting on key female historical figures. This mea I barely got to the end of this book - which was surprising as I'm a great fan of Fraser's work ordinarily.

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This means that the prose tends to digress from the subject at hand and is therefore difficult to keep track of. Also, when Fraser then writes of other historic 'warrior queens', she continually relates back to Boadicea - which provides some interesting viewpoints not ordinarily explored especially for Elizabeth I, my personal favourite historical figure here.

Saying this, some of the biography of these women is then lost in the telling as the prose again feels to drift without adding any value to the telling. All in all, some very interesting viewpoints in this book, however personally speaking, not exactly what I was expecting. Definitely a good read for ancient history enthusiasts, rather than any era more current though. Jan 29, Rebecca Grace rated it it was ok. Also must read anything given a thumbs-up by Margaret Atwood because she is an absolute literary goddess a mon avis But in the end I felt that Fraser attempted to cover too much ground between the covers of this book.

I would have appreciated reading about fewer subject but in greater depth. Also, as a non-Brit, I was not previously familiar with the story of Boadiccea and it was difficult to piece it all together from the author's non-linear storytelling. Nevertheless, it was an informative read, and it has profoundly influenced my perspective as an observer of and a voter for!

May 10, Kelly rated it really liked it. I really enjoyed this book.

The beginning was terribly slow for me, but once it picked up I couldn't put it down. I think I was thrown off in the beginning because she kept saying that this book was a study of Warrior Queens. The first 3 chapters read like a text book to me. But once the book started flowing, and each chapter was a different Warrior Queen, I really enjoyed it. It also gave me lots of women to try to find books on and maybe learn even more about these remarkable Warrior Q I really enjoyed this book.

It also gave me lots of women to try to find books on and maybe learn even more about these remarkable Warrior Queens.

The Warrior Queens, Boadicea's Chariot (Part One)

If she wasn't a Warrior Queen I don't know the meaning of the words. Feb 03, Tracy rated it liked it. This was an interesting book but not enough detail for me. I wanted more information on each woman, but at least it gives an overview of several women from history. Apr 14, Aimee rated it liked it Shelves: The information it imparts is useful and I learnt a lot I didn't already know - including about some women, the Rani of Jhansi for instance, I hadn't heard of before - but I wish it had been presented in a more accessible and easily-digestable wa 2.

The Warrior Queens

The information it imparts is useful and I learnt a lot I didn't already know - including about some women, the Rani of Jhansi for instance, I hadn't heard of before - but I wish it had been presented in a more accessible and easily-digestable way. I picked up "The Warrior Queens" for two reasons. One, back in January I read another book about female rulers Helen Castor's She-Wolves and found it interesting but lacking in some respects, particularly in the writing. Two, I'd read Fraser's Faith and Treason and enjoyed it immensely, which made me willing to read Warrior Queens and see how her thoughts and approach might differ from Castor's.

I did find it both interesting and an easy read; after I'd added it to my Goodreads account I saw a I picked up "The Warrior Queens" for two reasons. I did find it both interesting and an easy read; after I'd added it to my Goodreads account I saw a number of reviews saying how boring it was, and I can't say I had the same reaction. On the contrary, I typically found myself wanting more information rather than less.

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This is a study of the attitudes of and toward women who have led their people in times of war, and while Boadicea is the central figure, each individual woman is treated in a relatively brief, self-contained overview; you can't and wouldn't go to this book for an in-depth examination of any one of the characters and some of them are intriguing enough that I wanted a real, detailed biography of them. Possibly it's the archeology in the earlier chapters that strikes many readers as boring? Certainly one could argue that the many female leaders of the 20th century most notably, Margaret Thatcher inspired Fraser to consider writing such a book; but I thought she devoted an even amount of space to the women across the centuries.

That said, I can't say this one ranks up there with Faith and Treason.

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In any work like this one is liable to sense an agenda, and while I certainly find it useful to consider the special challenges women face in exercising power, I don't have a whole lot of patience for a "battle of the sexes" theme. It could certainly have been more annoying in this book than it was, but little things were nonetheless exasperating: I also could not quite tell what the larger point was or if there really was any regarding the Warrior-Queen-as-harkening-back-to-some-primordial-goddess thing.

Is Fraser actually suggesting some kind of matriarchal society in the distant past? She raises the possibility and almost dismisses it, but apparently quite wistfully; and then it continues to crop up. The more strongly feminist threads, then, did not appeal to me, but the book does point out interesting historical themes that did strike me as worthwhile even if they are called "syndromes," which, like another reviewer, I find rather annoying. Elements like the Warrior Queen's tendency to see herself as unique among her sex and unwilling to promote "women's rights," and the tendency for the Warrior Queen to come to power by virtue of some connection to a powerful man -- these I found compelling.

The more psychological aspects less so.

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