monarchgirl's review
adventurous
emotional
sad
medium-paced
3.75
The main thing that I got from this book is that women in the early middle ages to the Georgian period which this book covers really didn't have it easy at all as often they were treated with derision and suspicion and at the very worst in an abusive manner without little cause. A lot of these women were punished due to who they fell in love with and where they fell in the succession of the various royal dynasties.
lifeandtea's review
4.0
Review: https://lifeandteablog.wordpress.com/2019/09/09/book-review-forgotten-royal-women-the-king-and-i-by-erin-lawless/
lisa_setepenre's review
3.0
I quite enjoyed Erin Lawless’s Forgotten Royal Women, a collection of about thirty short biographies of (relatively) obscure royal women connected to the British Isles through marriage or birth. The biographies are short – sometimes only two pages long – and not particularly detailed, but it is intended to introduce readers to these women rather than be a definitive biography of them.
To that end, I would have loved a little “further reading” section at the end of each biography or of the book so that people who want to find out more about these women can easily locate more information. To her credit, Lawless ends the book suggesting the reader to get in contact with her for book recommendations so maybe that was a limitation imposed by the publisher rather than an authorial choice.
These are informative and – in the case of women I had heard of – relatively reliable and fair. Lawless’s light tone can sometimes obscure a more complicated history but again, that’s also part and parcel of condensing the lives of women into a short, snappy biography.
In whole, I really enjoyed getting a snapshot into the lives and personalities of some lesser known historical women.
To that end, I would have loved a little “further reading” section at the end of each biography or of the book so that people who want to find out more about these women can easily locate more information. To her credit, Lawless ends the book suggesting the reader to get in contact with her for book recommendations so maybe that was a limitation imposed by the publisher rather than an authorial choice.
These are informative and – in the case of women I had heard of – relatively reliable and fair. Lawless’s light tone can sometimes obscure a more complicated history but again, that’s also part and parcel of condensing the lives of women into a short, snappy biography.
In whole, I really enjoyed getting a snapshot into the lives and personalities of some lesser known historical women.
kristin's review against another edition
3.0
I would like to thank Pen and Sword for a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
Interesting, but would have preferred more information on less women. This also should have been far more diverse than it is, there are plenty of books like this focusing solely on white women. The tone of the book is also a little chatty.
Interesting, but would have preferred more information on less women. This also should have been far more diverse than it is, there are plenty of books like this focusing solely on white women. The tone of the book is also a little chatty.
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