I follow Kate Mosse on social media, so have seen a lot of what she's posted about researching this book, so when I saw it was available for review, I knew it was one I wanted to do. In the introduction, she suggests that it's more of a coffee table book to read in short spurts, rather than one to read all in one go. For reasons of time, I ended up reading it as a whole book, but I think it's definitely one to read in sections and digest. I found I had to be very disciplined about not going down the Wikipedia/Google wormhole to investigate more and more of the highlighted women. Of course, that's not to say I didn't do 'some' extra reading, but I tried not to get diverted beyond the initial inquiry. When I inevitably return to this book, it will be with the idea of using it as a starting point from which to investigate more of these women.

Given the amount of books I've read recently about 'lost women' I'd expected to be familiar with more of the names in the book, so it was a very pleasant surprise to discover I'd only heard of about 10% of them. I also liked the way that the story of Lily was threaded through each section - it worked well as a way of grounding each theme and bringing it back to the personal details. The other thing that Mosse is keen to stress is that we can't romanticise these women. When she writes about Lily, she doesn't shy away from the character traits that today could be seen as flaws and she makes the very important point that we can't ignore the aspects of people's personalities that we are personally uncomfortable with. Nor should those flaws detract from their achievements. Rather, they make the woman human - a product of her time to a greater or lesser degree.

There are so many women who were left out of this - it wouldn't be possible to give room to them all in one book - but I liked the fact that those who were included were from a range of backgrounds, races, ethnicities and countries and spanned a wide variety of fields of interest. Too often, books like this focus only on Western civilisations. This one does not make that mistake and it is better for it.

This is a book for anyone who is interested in the forgotten (female) voices of history. I loved it and it’s definitely one I will return to.

I am very sad about this book, in a way that I feel could so easily have been avoided, because the males of our species have been so denigrating and dismissive of the abilities and talents of their female counterparts. Without their belief in male superiority, this book would never have been written; yes, I am male.

All of that on one side, I have found the book to be fascinating and engaging and a great incentive to discover at least some of the women hidden from and deprived of, in some cases for many centuries, their well-deserved place in the world.

A book that is very well worth your time.

— 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 —

𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: Warrior Queens & Quiet Revolutionaries
𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬: N/A
𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫(𝐬): Kate Mosse
𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: Histirical Non-Fiction
𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝: 13th October 2022
𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: TBC

I will have to wait for my physical copy to arrive for a proper review as I’m struggling with the eARC format.

Based on what I’ve read so far:

Mosse demonstrates an encyclopedic knowledge, bringing forgotten women back into public knowledge, based on meticulous and heavy research.

Based on this, it’s not viable to read this is one sitting, it’s more of a book that a readers comes and goes from. Mainly for the inspiration of powerful women whom, no matter how much their voices were ignored, had something to say.

🧚🏻‍♀️

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'Warrior Queens...' is my new encyclopedia of women to research in more detail. So many women are described, and from a wide range of professions and reasons why we (sort of - just!) still know of them.
It's a great starting point for, firstly, bringing home just how many women's achievements are both unintentionally and purposefully forgotten, and second, for finding women to read up on and find inspiration and reassurance from. Women are not deviations from the 'standard', despite what written history may suggest.

A thorough and intersectional dedication to women throughout history who have succeeded in changing the world and yet there remains little, if any, recognition left of their phenomenal paths. From botanists, explorers, warriors and poets to Abolitionists, scientists, physicians, inventors and martyrs, and so many more, the contribution of literally hundreds of women throughout time and across the globe is meticulously researched and recorded by Mosse in this wonderful collection. I particularly enjoyed how her own family history was interwoven within each section, detailing the efforts made to unearth & connect with her great- grandmother who was also an author and revealing tragic secrets and an enduring love story through many letters and remnants of family archives.
This is truly an amazing gift to learn the histories of these women and join the voices of those shouting to have their contributions noted and their memories preserved on an equal footing with their male counterparts and compatriots.