Warrior Queens

by Lady Antonia Fraser (Author), Lady Antonia Fraser (Author)

• Used

  Hardcover
  1994

  $6.72

  In her dazzlingly erudite and wide-ranging book, Antonia Fraser examines an infinite variety of Warrior Queens, found in almost every culture. On the one hand she recounts the stories of such diverse national heroines as Zenobia of Palmyra, Isabella of Spain, Elizabeth I, Queen Jinga of Angola, Catherine the Great and the Rani of Jhansi, right up to the twentieth-century democratically-elected Warrior Queens' - Indira Gandhi, Golda Meir and that formidable exponent of the role in our own day, Margaret Thatcher. On the other hand she examines, in terms of their history, the themes which occur and re-occur in very different civilisations and circumstances: the Tomboy Syndrome, for example, by which the adult Warrior Queen is often granted a mythical tomboy' past, or the Shame Syndrome, by which the courage of the Warrior Queen is contrasted with the weakness of the males around her. Sexuality is also a constant theme, as the Warrior Queen is sometimes seen as preternaturally chaste, sometimes as unnaturally voracious - the same female leader on occasion being the subject of both accusations.Weaving her wealth of scholarship with lightness - and with characteristic humour - Antonia Fraser has produced a remarkable and original work which casts a new light on the familiar heroines of history, and the whole subject of female leadership in times of war. Required reading for anyone going into politics, truck-driving or the Army: indeed by any woman going into anything' Margaret Atwood

• Used

  Paperback
  1989

  $3.30

  This is an examination of those women in history that have both ruled and led in war. From Boadicea to Margaret Thatcher, the author compares and contrasts the various styles of leadership of the world's women warriors both on an off the battlefield. The author includes as her subjects Catherine the Great, Elizabeth I, Isabella of Spain, the Rani of Jhansi, and Queen Jinga of Angola. She is interested in the way her heroines have wrested from and held the reins of power from their male adversaries.

• Used

  Hardcover
  1988

  $3.30

• New

  Paperback
  2002

  $15.79

  An inspired evaluation of women leaders in war by a bestselling historian. Antonia Fraser's Warrior Queens are those women who have both ruled and led in war. They include Catherine the Great, Elizabeth I, Isabella of Spain, the Rani of Jhansi, and the formidable Queen Jinga of Angola. With Boadicea as the definitive example, her female champions from other ages and civilisations make a fascinating and awesome assembly. Yet if Boadicea's apocryphal chariot has ensured her place in history, what are the myths that surround the others? And how different are the democratically elected if less regal warrior queens of our time: Indira Ghandi and Golda Meir? This remarkable book is much more than a biographical selection. It examines how Antonia Fraser's heroines have held and wrested the reins of power from their (consistently male) adversaries.