The Tip of My Wish List - Women Who Ruled

To change things up this year, I've decided to do a monthly post on 5 books from my insane wish list that I am most excited about getting to. Some might be new, some old and some out of print...my wish list has it all! I'll pick a theme each month and share my wish list post on the last Friday of the month. I know a number of excellent reviewers who will be doing similar posts and I'll be sure to link to their posts as well so you can see all the goodies we're excited about and, hopefully, add a few new book to your own wish list. 

For May I've decided to highlight books about bad ass women from history. These are women warriors and rulers during times that did not typically see women in those roles.  I'll link the titles to Goodreads where you can read reviews and find the various ways to purchase a copy if it sounds like your style. I really hope you enjoy and let me know if you've read any of these or have others you would add to the list.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Warrior Women: An Archaeologist's Search for History's Hidden Heroines

WARRIOR WOMEN weaves science, mythology and mystical cultures into a bold new historical tapestry of female warriors, heroines and leaders who have been left out of the history books...until now. From China to Celtic lands, warriors, priestesses and matriarchs come to life in this accessible and dramatic account of one archaeologist's search for the truth. Jeannine Davis-Kimball, a real-life Indiana Jones, recounts her exciting and dangerous career uncovering the real story behind Amazons, banshees and mummies. Within all these groups, Davis-Kimball has uncovered an entire ancient class of courageous women who played vital and respected roles. WARRIOR WOMEN is the first mainstream book to explore the lost world of women warriors that stretches from Europe to Asia. What emerges is not only a thrilling and exotic ride, but a provocative re-examination of gender roles for the 21st century.

The Warrior Queens: The Legends and the Lives of the Women Who Have Led Their Nations in War

In this panoramic work of history, Lady Antonia Fraser looks at women who led armies and empires: Cleopatra, Isabella of Spain, Jinga Mbandi, Margaret Thatcher, Zenobia, and Indira Gandhi, among others.

The Woman Who Would Be King: Hatshepsut's Rise to Power in Ancient Egypt

An engrossing biography of the longest-reigning female pharaoh in Ancient Egypt and the story of her audacious rise to power in a man’s world.


Hatshepsut, the daughter of a general who took Egypt's throne without status as a king’s son and a mother with ties to the previous dynasty, was born into a privileged position of the royal household. Married to her brother, she was expected to bear the sons who would legitimize the reign of her father’s family. Her failure to produce a male heir was ultimately the twist of fate that paved the way for her inconceivable rule as a cross-dressing king. At just twenty, Hatshepsut ascended to the rank of king in an elaborate coronation ceremony that set the tone for her spectacular twenty-two year reign as co-regent with Thutmose III, the infant king whose mother Hatshepsut out-maneuvered for a seat on the throne. Hatshepsut was a master strategist, cloaking her political power plays with the veil of piety and sexual expression. Just as women today face obstacles from a society that equates authority with masculinity, Hatshepsut had to shrewdly operate the levers of a patriarchal system to emerge as Egypt's second female pharaoh.

Hatshepsut had successfully negotiated a path from the royal nursery to the very pinnacle of authority, and her reign saw one of Ancient Egypt’s most prolific building periods. Scholars have long speculated as to why her images were destroyed within a few decades of her death, all but erasing evidence of her rule. Constructing a rich narrative history using the artifacts that remain, noted Egyptologist Kara Cooney offers a remarkable interpretation of how Hatshepsut rapidly but methodically consolidated power—and why she fell from public favor just as quickly. The Woman Who Would Be King traces the unconventional life of an almost-forgotten pharaoh and explores our complicated reactions to women in power.

Cartimandua: Queen of the Brigantes

This is the first major study of Cartimandua, Queen of the Brigantes, whose story is one of rebellion, intrigue, betrayal, and scandal. A contemporary of the much more famous Boudica, Cartimandua chose to support Roman rule rather than to rebel—indeed she betrayed the rebel Caractacus to the Romans. As a result she was awarded great wealth and held her position as queen until AD 69 when the husband she had divorced forced her into exile on his second attempt to take back control of the tribe. This is a unique look at a fascinating yet often overlooked historical figure, the world in which she lived, and the influences that shaped the turbulent events in her life.

Boudica's Last Stand: Britain's Revolt Against Rome AD 60–61

The history of one woman's battle against an empire, and the story of how Boudica became one of the most legendary figures in history


It is Britain, AD 60. Three Roman towns are in ashes and thousands lie dead. With her new allies, the Trinovantes and the Catuvellauni, Boudica and the Iceni march defiantly towards their enemy seeking one last pivotal victory to drive the Romans from their land forever. Not far away the Roman governor, Gaius Suetonius Paulinus, awaits them with his ground chosen, his strategy decided, and his small force ready to face the great native army. If his strategy is sound they will prevail, if not they will be massacred, losing the province forever. Is it really revenge Boudica wants for the vile humiliations the Romans heaped on her, or is she playing for much higher stakes? Can Paulinus defeat the odds to win the day? To answer these questions, this book reexamines events from a fresh, tactical perspective and produce a clearer picture of a revolt crushed on a newly suggested battle site, offering a new interpretation of a battle that decided 2,000 years of Britain's cultural heritage.   

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Check out these lovely blogs for more books to add to your wish list:

Heather at The Maiden's Court shares five WWII novels on her wish list HERE.

Erin at Flashlight Commentary shares her top alternative history novels HERE.

Stephanie at Layered Pages gives us five Christian Fiction titles she's looking forward to reading HERE.

Magdalena from A Bookaholic Swede shares five novels with love stories set during WW2 HERE.

Holly at 2 Kids and Tired Books tells us five of the banned books she'd like to read HERE.