When it comes to history about people who didn't necessarily write down their stories or legends, it can be very difficult separating myth from fact. But thanks to the diligence of modern historians and accidental discoveries brought about by excavation (or simply someone diving or fishing in the right spot), we can learn a lot about our ancestors. Ms. Fraser is one of those historians, blessed by an avid curiosity, a rigid adherence to facts and the luck attending those various startled civilians.While the book is largely devoted to the recounting of military campaigns, diplomatic meetings and conversations that may or may not have taken place, it does have a tendency to get bogged down by dates, facts and the recounting of different names of the many personages that took part in history. Sometimes a paragraph is so loaded with this plethora of information, that it could be remembered only by the most diehard trivia buff.But this is to be expected by a woman determined to delineate the titular personages in this history book. The ladies of The Warrior Queens are shown in all their colors; there has been no attempt on the author to canonize or demonize them but merely to show all the efforts they have made either to save their people or attain personal glory. Along the way, Ms. Fraser also points out the attitudes of those closest to the action: the men who either admire or denigrate their female enemies, the other women who accuse them of indifference to the plight of ordinary females and the struggle of these women to walk the tightrope between mortal danger and immortal glory while fending off the attacks of those who simply can't bear female leaders.How much have people changed in modern times? Could a female President possibly exist in the near future? Would she have to face questions like how long it takes her to get dressed or whether she would have the courage to "push the button"? Ms. Fraser is shrewd enough to know that a woman in power will always raise skepticism but the bold actions of her predecessors will give her a solid background from which to emerge triumphant.
WARRIOR QUEENS is okay, but Lady Antonia obviously likes the modern queens more than the ancient ones. 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. 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.
What do You think about The Warrior Queens (2015)?
I really enjoyed reading this. It examined how the tropes and misogynistic criticisms that were applied to women in power in the past, even the very distant past, are still applied to women in power today. I'd always wanted to know more about Boudica and Fraser used her as a model to compare the other Warrior Queens to, mostly to compare how they were perceived and described, and the situations in which they came to power. She also made sure to note how Boudica herself was perceived, or forgotten, during each of the Warrior Queen's reigns.
—Karen
I was deeply disappointed by this book. The women who are the subjects are fascinating, but Antonia Fraser was so determined to connect them and present a theory of warrior queens that she lost sight of storytelling. The book jumos from one female leader (not all are queens) to the next, providing too little detail to understand the context and circumstances each faced or how each handled their authority. The theory she sacrificed storytelling to is also unsatisfying. I'm unconvinced that all these powerful leaders from different cultures can be so generalized and distilled, or that some of the claims are unique to female leaders. In short, the book lacks the narrative of good history and the persuasive force of good theory.
—Kirsten
I stopped reading this book after 233 pages (about 2/3 finished) because life is too short to read bad books. This is only the second book in the last 8 years I have failed to finish without plans to try again. The first few chapters are dry analysis of what it means to be a "Warrior Queen", and it doesn't pick up pace until 1/3 of the way into the book. Then it tries to tell the stories of these Warrior Queens with a chapter apiece, but the author insists on comparing everybody to Boadicea (both the legend and the historical figure). I had to stop when halfway into Jinga's chapter, there wasn't any information provided on this character. Most of the information presented was the use of Boadicea in literature throughout history. 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!) I have read long history books (Postwar, Dreadnought, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, etc.) and have never come across book as tedious and repetitive nor with the same appalling lack of organization. It was absolutely frustrating to read about all the "syndromes" these women had while ignoring the rich detail or their lives. The lack of detail is understandable in the earliest stories where there is little written history and/or it is unreliable, but I expected the stories to include more detail as the book progressed and that simply didn't happen.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.
—Jessica
