Like yesterday's post, this one is going to be a bit different from my usual book reviews. I picked up this book for a very much reduced price at a book sale. Introduced by historian Simon Sebag Montefiori, it contains speeches by diverse prominent figures from the past, from Jesus Christ and Mahommed to Adolf …
Category: Women in History
Harper Lee 1926-2016
Obituary The literary world is mourning tonight the death of one of its most illustrious yet enigmatic authors. It is a sadness that will be shared by lovers of good literature everywhere. Nelle Harper Lee was a literary phenomenon. For a novelist whose body of published work consisted -until last year - of only one …
Women Behind the Throne – Part Three
Sorqoqtani - 'Munificence and Benefaction' Shirimun and the sons of Ghaimish opposed the election of Mangke as Great Khan. They prevaricated and would not attend the quriltai to endorse the appointment. When they did at last set out for the Mongol homelands, it was with mischievous intent - or so the contemporary historians would have …
Women Behind the Throne – Part Two
Sorqoqtani Makes Her Move Toregene Khatun managed to delay the quriltai until 1246 but by then she was ill. She must have recognised that her son Guyuk was a weak man, even more of a drunkard than his father but without Ogodai’s good nature. The quriltai formally endorsed Guyuk as Great Khan. The coronation was …
Women behind the Throne – Part One
Sorqoqtani and the Mongol Succession [adapted from Chapter 5 of my book The Lion, the Sun and the Eternal Blue Sky] In Mongolia, where Temuchin (Genghis Khan) is honoured today as a national hero, women enjoy a remarkable degree of economic and social independence compared to their counterparts in some other Asian countries. And, when …
Righteous Medicine – Unholy Malice
A House Divided by Margaret Skea [I received an advanced reading copy of A House Divided in exchange for a fair review.] ‘I have eaten crushed orchid leaves, powdered fox’s lungs and crab’s eyes; drunk wolf oil and tincture of foxglove; been bled and leeched till I think I have little blood left; told to …
The Origins of Modern Fantasy
The Blazing World of Margaret Cavendish 'At last the rain came, and upon a sudden all their houses appeared of a flaming Fire; and the more Water there was poured on them, the more did they flame and burn;' I was doing some research into the history of fantasy literature when I came across a …
Bookheathen Scribblings 